US President Donald Trump on Friday said it will probably be known in 24 hours how Palestinian terror group Hamas will respond to a proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel.
Earlier reports indicated that Hamas would issue a formal response at some point on Friday, while the terror group said in a statement its official response would be given after consultations with all Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.
Trump also said Friday that Gazans have “been through hell,” dodging a reporter’s question about whether he still plans for the US to take over the Strip.
“I want the people of Gaza to be safe,” he answered.
The reporter was referring to the plan announced by Trump in February to take over the Strip and permanently relocate all Palestinians there, turning the land instead into a resort destination. While the plan was welcomed by the Israeli government, Arab countries fervently refused US and Israeli requests to take in Palestinians, arguing that Gazans should be allowed to remain on their land and warning that allowing such an initiative under these conditions will simply export the conflict into their borders.
Meanwhile, a source close to Hamas told Reuters on Thursday that the terror group sought guarantees that the US-backed ceasefire proposal would lead to the end of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out.
According to an unsourced Channel 12 report Thursday, Trump has offered a direct guarantee to Hamas that if it agrees to the so-called Witkoff framework — which includes the release of 10 living hostages in two phases and 18 bodies in three phases over the course of a 60-day ceasefire — the US will ensure efforts continue to reach a lasting end to the conflict.
Israel is also believed to be under heavy US pressure to clinch a ceasefire deal ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington for talks with Trump next week. The prime minister is set to visit the White House on Monday.
As Israel awaits Hamas’s response, Saudi outlet Asharq News reported that Hamas officials have shown “flexibility” on the issue of disarmament, which Israel has demanded as a condition for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Citing unnamed Hamas officials familiar with the matter, Asharq News reported that the terror group may commit, through mediators Qatar and Egypt, to put an end to weapons smuggling, shut down weapons manufacturing operations in the Gaza Strip, and hand over their existing weapons supplies to be stored in a location without any Hamas presence.
Additionally, the officials said that the terror group could agree to temporarily exile a symbolic number of its officials who currently reside in Gaza, as a way of compromising with Israel’s demand to deport Hamas leaders out of the Palestinian enclave.
Even if Hamas successfully meets Israel’s conditions for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war that has been raging since October 7, 2023, the sources told Asharq that there is still a way to go regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and its governance.
Israel has said that Hamas cannot have any role in running the war-torn Palestinian enclave, but mediators believe that this cannot happen overnight, and that there will need to be a transitional phase. Speaking to Asharq, the unnamed Hamas sources said that the terror group will likely insist on maintaining control over law enforcement systems inside the Strip.
“The movement is the only entity capable of understanding the dynamics of Gazan society and maintaining security there,” one source told the Saudi news outlet, adding that this is truer than ever “after two years of war, during which societal collapses occurred as a result of killing, destruction, starvation and displacement.”
Unverified reports earlier said that Hamas-linked outlets claimed the terror group had given a “positive answer” to the latest proposal for a truce and hostage deal. This included an anchor on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV channel who wrote on his Facebook account that Hamas had agreed to the deal.
The 60-day deal is expected to see five separate releases of dead and living hostages, with Channel 13 saying Thursday that on day one, eight living hostages will be released; on day seven, five bodies; on day 30, another five bodies; on day 50, two living hostages; and on the last day, eight more bodies.
Were this process completed, this would leave 22 hostages still held in Gaza, at least 10 of them believed to be alive.
Reports have indicated that the hostages will be released in return for Israel setting free Palestinian security prisoners it is holding, and a boost in humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
The full security cabinet was set to meet on Saturday night to vote on the proposal before Netanyahu takes off for Washington. The ceasefire could start while Netanyahu is in the United States, according to Channel 13.
Palestinian terror groups are holding 50 hostages who were abducted from southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists burst into the country. The attack also killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, triggering the war.
The hostages include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.