One man – a figure so elusive that Palestinians in Gaza whisper he is more phantom than human – may hold the fate of Donald Trump’s peace plan in his hands.

Three times Israel has tried to kill Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the most senior military leader in Gaza, since Oct 7 2023. Its forces have killed two of his sons but never the man believed to have co-ordinated the initial assault on Israeli territory that day.

Now thought to be overseeing the incarceration of the remaining Israeli hostages, Haddad is arguably the single most important figure in determining whether the US president’s initiative is stillborn or has a fighting chance.

The White House released a 20-point plan to end Israel’s nearly two-year offensive in Gaza, win the freedom of hostages and declare a special economic zone under Mr Trump’s tutelage.

On Tuesday, the US president gave Hamas “three or four” days to respond to his peace proposal, warning that the terror group will “pay in hell” if it does not.

Haddad is not the only voice to determine the outcome of Mr Trump’s deal. Hamas’s Qatar-based political leaders must also have their say. They will probably not share Mr Trump’s conviction that his plan is perhaps the greatest in the history of civilisation, one destined to bring “eternal peace” to the Middle East. There is much in it they will find deeply unpalatable.

From the war’s outset, Hamas set clear red lines: it would not not release all its hostages until Israeli forces withdrew fully from Gaza and, though willing to cede power in the territory, it would not surrender its weapons.