Hamas is close to deciding on the response it will convey to the United States regarding US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The official was understood to believe that Trump’s plan was designed to destroy Hamas regardless of whether it gives up the war, and he is alleged to have expressed the group’s desire to continue fighting.
The head of Hamas’s military wing, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, indicated that he would not agree to the plan to end the war in Gaza, BBC News reported on Thursday.
Saudi outlet Asharq al-Awsat cited Hamas sources claiming that the terror group would "not reject the plan entirely, but will accept it in part, with the addition of amendments related to certain issues, particularly those related to the handover of the hostages, the withdrawal of the IDF, and other matters."
Trump will set a deadline for Hamas response
Trump will draw a red line on how long to give Hamas to accept an Israel-backed proposal to halt fighting in Gaza, the White House said on Thursday, without explicitly saying whether he would enforce a previously set deadline.
On Tuesday, Trump said he would give Hamas three to four days to accept the 20-point document, which calls on the militant group to disarm, a demand it has previously rejected. Hamas is reviewing the proposal, a source close to the group said on Wednesday.
Asked on the Fox News program America’s Newsroom to identify a point at which Hamas would be considered to have “walked away” from the proposal, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said:
“Well, it’s a very good question, and it’s a red line that the president of the United States is going to have to draw. And I’m confident that he will. But the president and his team worked very hard on this 20-point, comprehensive, detailed plan that has been applauded all over the world.”
Leavitt added, “This is an acceptable plan, and we hope and we expect that Hamas should accept this plan so we can move forward.”
Terms of the proposed plan
The plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all remaining hostages held by Hamas for Israel’s release of 250 life-sentence Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans detained after 7 October 2023, as well as a staggered Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body.
Many elements of the 20 points have been part of numerous ceasefire deal proposals over the past two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Hamas and Israel.