Trump Claims Hamas Is Open to Lasting Peace After Accepting Peace Deal Parts – What It Means for Gaza

The Israeli military’s Arab-language spokesperson has issued a new statement this morning warning residents not to return to northern Gaza.

It reads: To all residents of the Gaza Strip: The area north of Wadi Gaza remains a dangerous combat zone.

Remaining in this area is dangerous; therefore the Rashid route is still open for your movement south.

IDF troops are still operating in Gaza City, and returning to it is extremely dangerous.

For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching areas of IDF troop activity anywhere – including in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel has continued to strike Gaza this morning, according to Palestinian officials, despite Donald Trump’s call for an immediate stop to the bombardment.

Israeli fire killed six people across the Gaza Strip, local authorities said. One strike killed four people in a house in Gaza City while another killed two others in Khan Younis in the south, medical workers and local authorities said.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said early on Saturday that Israel was preparing for an “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza plan for the release of Israeli hostages following Hamas’ response.

Shortly after, Israeli media reported that the country’s political echelon had instructed the military to reduce offensive activity in Gaza.

The Israeli military chief of staff instructed forces in a statement to advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of Trump’s plan, without mentioning whether there would be reduction of military activity in Gaza.

Was Friday night’s announcement from Hamas the moment millions have been dreaming of and campaigning for? The end to mass slaughter in Gaza? To the two-year-long nightmare for the families of Israeli hostages and captives? The end to a region-wide war that has pushed the world to the brink?

The problem is that the 20-point plan is vague. So vague, in fact, that it has allowed Trump, Netanyahu, Hamas, and key figures in the region to effectively release and promote their own interpretations of it.

The statements accompanying each endorsement paint such entirely different pictures, you wonder whether they were even looking at the same document. And this, I fear, will be the issue when it comes to actually trying to implement it and achieve much sought after peace.

Sir Keir Starmer has labelled Hamas’ partial acceptance of a peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump as a “significant step forwards” and called for an “agreement without delay”.

Hamas said it has accepted elements of the plan to end the nearly two-year war, including being willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians.

Further negotiations were needed on other areas, according to senior Hamas officials.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said: “Hamas’ acceptance of the US peace plan is a significant step forwards.

“We strongly support President Trump’s efforts, which have brought us closer to peace than ever before.

“There is now an opportunity to end the fighting, for the hostages to return home, and for humanitarian aid to reach those who so desperately need it.

“We call on all sides to implement the agreement without delay.”

He said the UK was ready to support further negotiations and work “towards sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike”.

Emmanuel Macron has tweeted his reaction to Hamas’s statement about the peace plan:

This morning in Australia, prime minister Anthony Albanese has released a statement saying his country “welcomes progress on President Trump’s plan to bring peace to Gaza”.

His comment came after Hamas said it was willing to implement the first stage of the plan to release Israeli hostages, but that it wanted negotiations on other aspects of the agreement.

Mr Albanese said Australia “have consistently been part of international calls for a ceasefire, the return of hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian aid to reach those in need”.

“I reiterate our call on Hamas to agree to the plan, lay down its arms and release all remaining hostages without delay,” he said.

“Together with our partners, Australia will continue to support efforts to end the war and work towards a just and sustainable two-state solution.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the “first stage” of Trump’s plan, referring to the release of hostages.

But his office said in a statement that Israel was committed to ending the war based on principles it has set out before without addressing potential gaps with Hamas.

“In light of Hamas’s response, Israel is preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of President Trump’s plan for the prompt release of all the hostages,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to bring the war to an end in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which are aligned with President Trump’s vision.”

Hamas’ acceptance of Donald Trump’s peace deal came hours after the US president gave them until Sunday to agree to his plan.

He posted an ultimatum giving them until 6pm on Sunday to accept the deal and vowed “all hell” would break out had an accord not been reached by then.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” he said, adding later that there would be “PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”

He also threatened Hamas several times in his Truth Social post, claiming that its members are “surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO’, for their lives to be quickly extinguished” by Israeli forces while vowing that Hamas militants “will be hunted down and killed” and urging Palestinian civilians to evacuate “this area of potentially great future death” in Gaza City “for safer parts of Gaza.”