Gaza peace via Trump gameplan

After two years of a bitter war fought both in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and on the world stage, hope was at its highest level yesterday that the conflict would end and the remaining Israeli hostages would be released based on a plan that US President Donald Trump introduced.

A senior Hamas official said on Saturday the rebel group was “ready to begin negotiations immediately to finalize all issues.”

American-Palestinian mediator Bishara Bahbah told Walla News that Hamas recently agreeing to Trump’s Gaza deal “could indeed mark the end of the war and the release of all the hostages.”

“I truly believe that good things are happening now,” Bahbah said.

“I can see before my eyes the end of the war and the release of all the hostages,” he added, emphasizing the sense of progress.

Trump’s plan calls for a halt to hostilities, the release of the hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and Hamas’ disarmament.

The plan also insists that Hamas and other factions “not have any role in the governance of Gaza,” with the administration of the territory instead taken up by a technocratic body overseen by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

The families of the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza on Saturday said it was “essential” to end the war immediately, as Israel bombarded the territory even after Trump called on it to stop.

Trump had urged Israel to stop its bombardment after Hamas agreed to release all the hostages and begin talks on the details of his peace plan.

Hamas said it was ready to release the hostages held in Gaza, but wanted negotiations on the details of Trump’s plan and a say in the future of the Palestinian territory.

“The movement announces its approval for the release of all hostages --- living and remains — according to the exchange formula included in President Trump’s proposal,” Hamas said in a statement Friday.

Trump later posted on Truth Social: “Based on the statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly!”

“President Trump’s demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

“We call on Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home,” it stressed.

But despite Trump’s appeal, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City overnight, with a number of nearby hospitals saying they received casualties from the strikes.

“It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force that operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardment.

Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital said it received casualties from a strike on a home in the city’s Tuffah neighborhood, including four dead and several wounded.

Further south, Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.

The US leader had given the Palestinian group until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan or else face “all hell.”

Netanyahu accedes

Netanyahu’s office said in response to Trump’s call that Israel was “preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages.”

In its statement, Hamas also agreed to hand over power in Gaza to technocrats but said it would “participate and contribute responsibly” in Palestinian discussions regarding the territory’s future.

An AFP journalist in the Gaza Strip’s coastal area of Al-Mawasi said they heard celebratory cries of “Allahu akbar!” (God is the greatest) rise from tents housing Palestinians as news of Hamas’ response filtered through.

“The moment I read the news my body trembled and shivered. A feeling came over me like, ‘Oh Allah, at last relief has come to us,’” Samah Al-Hu, a displaced Palestinian in Al-Mawasi, said.

Friday’s developments also drew a chorus of hopeful reactions from the international community, including from the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, and the UN chief.

Key mediators Qatar and Egypt both welcomed Hamas’ statements, saying they hoped it would help towards ensuring an end to the conflict.

The war was triggered by Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead were women and children.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Hamas’ positive reaction to the peace deal proposed by Trump, and said that halting the war in Gaza was “within reach.”

“Hamas’ stated readiness to release the hostages and engage based on the recent proposal is encouraging,” Von der Leyen wrote on X. “This moment must be seized. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages are within reach.”