When phrase reached the White House on Friday afternoon that Hamas had, after practically 5 days, responded to President Donald Trump’s 20-point proposal to finish the struggle in Gaza, officers have been so fast to embrace the group’s assertion they posted it in full on social media, at one level mistakenly attributing it to Trump himself.
Hamas’ response stopped properly wanting absolutely endorsing every of Trump’s twenty factors, together with crucial ones like demanding Hamas disarm and destroy their weapons, and that it play no function in governing Gaza in the long run.
Yet Trump selected to concentrate on what Hamas did agree to quite than what it didn’t. For him, the group’s declaration it was prepared to launch all of the remaining hostages held for the reason that October 7, 2023, terror assaults was sufficient. And after months of frustratingly sluggish progress, Trump appeared prepared to proceed as if peace was lastly at hand — even when the finer particulars remained unsure.
His response, posted solely an hour or so after Hamas launched its six-paragraph reply, had the impact of preempting any response from Israel itself, together with from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Trump and his staff had pushed to settle for the peace plan earlier in the week.
“Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!”
In a press release from his workplace early Saturday, Netanyahu mentioned that “Israel is preparing to immediately implement the first phase of Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all hostages.”
“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the president and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set forth by Israel that are consistent with President Trump’s vision,” Netanyahu’s workplace mentioned.
In a video posted to Truth Social Friday evening, the president referred to as it a “big day,” including: “In many ways, it is unprecedented.”
“Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East, and we’re very close to achieving that,” he mentioned.
It wasn’t clear how coordinated Trump’s response was with the Israelis; the White House didn’t announce a cellphone name between the boys.
And whereas Trump, in his video assertion, personally thanked Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan for his or her efforts to dealer peace, he made no point out of Netanyahu.
Even with out a name, Trump’s message was clear. After publicly heaping strain on Hamas to settle for the plan, together with by issuing a Sunday evening ultimatum to agree or else face “all hell” in Gaza, Trump was primarily shifting the onus again to Israel to finish its bombardment. It was the primary time Trump has explicitly instructed Israel to halt its relentless assault on Gaza.
An Israeli supply instructed NCS that Trump’s celebration of Hamas’ response to the proposal stunned Netanyahu twice – together with when Trump ordered that Israel instantly cease bombing Gaza, the supply mentioned, which compelled Israel to halt its assault on Gaza City. Israel was making ready to maintain any renewed negotiations solely underneath hearth, because the Israeli navy continued bombarding the battered territory. But Trump left Israel with little alternative.
Neither the prime minister’s workplace nor the Israel Defense Forces addressed Trump’s demand that Israel “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza,” or gave any indication of a timeline for the hostages’ launch. Israel is now making ready a negotiating staff for talks to finalize the ceasefire proposal, in accordance to an Israeli official.
Trump’s particular envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, will journey to Egypt this weekend for negotiations on particulars of the hostage launch agreed to by Hamas and different features of peace plan, in accordance to two US officers.
Hamas’s response drew a much more lukewarm response from even a few of Trump’s staunchest allies.
“Hamas’ recent response to President Trump’s plan to end the war — which Israel had accepted — is unfortunately predictable. A classic ‘Yes, but,’” Graham wrote on X. “No disarmament, keeping Gaza under Palestinian control, and tying hostage release to negotiations, along with other problems. This is, in essence, a rejection by Hamas of President Trump’s ‘take it or leave it’ proposal.”
Trump, nonetheless, was extra prepared to settle for the assertion as a constructive growth, whilst he acknowledged there was nonetheless work to be carried out on finalizing the main points of the association.
“We’ll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete,” he mentioned in his video, taped from the Oval Office.
Trump had been ready anxiously for Hamas to reply to his proposal over the past a number of days. In a name with Qatar’s emir on Wednesday, Trump inquired about progress, however was instructed it could take longer for the group to reply.
Communication issues with Hamas’ navy leaders in Gaza contributed to the time it took to obtain a response, as did divisions amongst Hamas management over parts of the plan, in accordance to US officers, who have been suggested of the difficulties by regional companions this week.
Still, Trump was rising impatient, and issued the Sunday evening ultimatum on Friday morning hoping it could spur Hamas into responding.
Ultimately, the response that arrived might have offered Trump a gap to declare Hamas intransigent, and green-light Israel escalating its assault — as he mentioned he would do if Hamas rejected the plan. But Trump, in trying previous the areas the place Hamas appeared to differ with the plan, put Netanyahu in the troublesome place of both accepting the response positively, or risking angering his prime worldwide ally.
Trump has been more and more at odds with Netanyahu since reentering workplace in January, incessantly partaking in tense cellphone calls together with his counterpart over the never-ending nature of the struggle in Gaza and Israel’s enlargement of the battle past its borders — all strikes that would imperil Trump’s probabilities of profitable a Nobel Peace Prize.
So, too, have members of Trump’s base turn into increasingly disillusioned with Israel’s struggle in Gaza because it nears its two-year mark, with some — together with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — labeling Israel’s actions a “genocide.”
Most galling for Trump was the Israeli strikes in Qatar final month geared toward Hamas leaders, which Trump and US officers considered as destabilizing and dangerous to ongoing efforts to negotiate a peace. Trump complained publicly the US wasn’t given time to intervene.
The strikes, which drew common condemnation from Arab international locations, ultimately prompted Trump’s staff to start work on the multipoint plan that grew to become the proposal unveiled earlier this week, officers mentioned.
In conferences in New York final week, prime Trump aides — Witkoff and Kushner, reprising the Middle East adviser function he held in Trump’s first time period — labored to get Netanyahu’s buy-in to the proposal, even because the prime minister appeared reluctant to signal on.
Trump’s aides, and Trump himself, have been specific in their conversations with Netanyahu that the plan was the very best — and final — likelihood for a negotiated finish to the struggle. They warned Trump’s largely stalwart public help for Netanyahu and Israel may very well be in danger, in accordance to US officers.
It was solely after hours of dialogue, and altering to a number of the plan’s wording, that Netanyahu ultimately agreed to get on board, in accordance to US officers. Some of the modifications alarmed Arab nations that had been briefed on the plan the week prior. But as Trump and Netanyahu have been assembly in the Oval Office on Monday, the White House printed the textual content — cementing the modifications and placing Hamas on discover to agree.
As a part of their assembly, Trump held a phone on his lap whereas Netanyahu telephoned Qatar’s prime minister to apologize for strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha final month. The transfer was considered as important in advancing the negotiations, given the essential function Qatar has performed in mediating with Hamas.