A Palestinian-American political activist who has been mediating between the Trump administration and the Hamas terror group said Wednesday that the final ceasefire proposal on the table is a comprehensive US deal to end the Israel-Hamas war and free all the hostages held in Gaza.
In an interview with the Saudi news outlet al-Arabiya, Bishara Bahbah said, “There was a meeting in Washington that, according to what I know, lasted six hours, and it was decided that there would be one final proposal on the table: the release of all the [hostages] and an end to the war.”
Bahbah is not an official member of the US negotiating team, but has been serving as a liaison between the Trump administration and Hamas.
Hours earlier, the terror group declared that it was open to a comprehensive deal, a statement that was immediately dismissed by Israel as spin.
Speaking to al-Arabiya, Bahbah said that he had “contacted Hamas about the matter [of a comprehensive deal], and they were skeptical — they didn’t know if it was something official.”
But he said that after officials in the terror group saw US President Donald Trump’s social media post calling for an end to the war, they “were convinced it was official, and immediately responded that they agree to this deal.”
The Hamas statement on Wednesday said that it was willing “to enter into a comprehensive deal in which all enemy prisoners held by the resistance will be freed in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners held by the occupation.” The terror group refers to the hostages it holds as prisoners.
It also said that it was ready to form “an independent national administration of technocrats” to run Gaza.
The Prime Minister’s Office has said said the war can end immediately if five conditions are met — the release of all hostages; the disarmament of Hamas; the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; Israeli security control in Gaza; and “the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that does not indoctrinate for terror, does not dispatch terror, and does not threaten Israel.”
The Hamas statement came after Trump posted on his Truth Social network on Wednesday: “Tell Hamas to IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 Hostages (Not 2 or 5 or 7!), and things will change rapidly. IT WILL END!”
The US president appeared to be referring to the number of hostages believed by Israel to still be alive. Officially, only 26 of the 48 hostages being held in Gaza have been declared dead by Israel, but authorities have expressed grave concern about two others. The families of slain hostages have expressed fears over the possibility of a deal that would leave their loved ones’ remains inside Gaza.
Bahbah said that Trump is seeking to heavily pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into accepting such a deal and ending the war — a message he passed on to Hamas.
The mediator said that the war “could be ended in two weeks” if both sides are serious about the talks, and said there were more “positive signs” than ever before about the potential for a deal.
However, Israel appeared to dismiss Hamas’s announcement on Wednesday night, as the Israel Defense Forces continued to advance its plan to conquer Gaza City.
“This is more spin by Hamas, containing nothing new,” Netanyahu’s office said.
In a similar message, Defense Minister Israel Katz called on Hamas to either accept Israel’s conditions to end the war — including the release of all hostages and disarmament — or see Gaza City “become like Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” accusing the terror group of continuing to “deceive and utter empty words.”
Responding to Netanyahu and Katz, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that while the government “does not have to accept Hamas’s conditions, it must immediately return to negotiations and try to close a deal.”
“You can’t not even try to return our hostages home,” demanded Lapid.