A palpable mix of disbelief and relief swept through Israel and Gaza on Saturday morning. This followed a pivotal announcement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating Israel’s readiness to collaborate with President Trump on a plan to end the ongoing conflict. This commitment came just after Hamas publicly declared its intent to release all Israeli hostages.
Friday’s events were nothing short of a dramatic turn: President Trump issued an ultimatum to Hamas, urging them to accept his peace framework. This was met by a conditional acceptance from Hamas, paving the way for a cautious yet significant agreement from Israel to move forward. This sequence of events has ignited hopes for a cessation of the devastating conflict, which is mere days away from marking its two-year anniversary.
However, the timeline for implementing these peace initiatives and seeing concrete steps toward an end to hostilities remains uncertain.
Hamas, in its official response to President Trump, confirmed its consent to release all Israeli hostages. This agreement aligns with the terms for ending the war that the president, alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu, laid out in Washington earlier in the week. These terms notably included demands for Israel to free 250 Palestinian prisoners currently serving life sentences, in addition to 1,700 others detained since the war began.
Crucially, Hamas also stipulated certain operational conditions on the ground necessary for facilitating the exchange of hostages and prisoners. The group expressed its willingness to enter into indirect discussions with Israel to iron out these specific logistical and security requirements.
A significant point of contention remains: Hamas conspicuously avoided directly addressing the demands within President Trump’s plan that it disarm. Furthermore, it appeared to reject the plan’s insistence on Hamas having no future role in governing the Gaza Strip. Instead, Hamas asserted that “other issues related to the future of Gaza and the Palestinian people’s authentic rights” would necessitate “discussion within an inclusive Palestinian national framework that will include Hamas.”
These nuanced conditions and apparent reservations from Hamas seemed to prompt a period of deliberation for Prime Minister Netanyahu. It wasn’t until approximately 3 a.m. local time on Saturday, roughly five hours after Hamas’s initial response to the president, that his office finally released a statement. It simply affirmed Israel’s readiness for the “immediate release of all hostages,” making no explicit mention of Hamas’s stipulated conditions.
The Israeli statement further clarified that Israel would cooperate with the White House “to end the war in accordance with the principles set forth by Israel that are consistent with President Trump’s vision.” This suggests a continued alignment with the broader goals while potentially navigating the specifics of Hamas’s counter-conditions.
In a related development, the Israeli military confirmed that its commanders had been instructed to “advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages.” This directive was coupled with a reinforced emphasis on the critical need “for a rapid response to neutralize any threat,” underscoring the ongoing security concerns even as peace efforts progress.