Hamas agrees to release Israeli hostages after Trump’s threat
Hamas has accepted key aspects of a United States–brokered ceasefire plan but said further negotiations were needed on sensitive issues, particularly regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and the rights of Palestinians.
In a statement issued late Friday, the Palestinian militant group said it had agreed “to release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal,” provided that “field conditions for the exchanges were met.”
The announcement followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s dramatic ultimatum earlier in the day, in which he threatened Hamas with unprecedented military consequences if it rejected his peace plan. “If this last chance agreement is not reached, all hell, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The deal, unveiled at the White House on Monday by Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sets out a 20-point framework: Hamas would release within 72 hours 20 surviving Israeli hostages and the remains of others believed dead in exchange for hundreds of detained Gazans. In total, an estimated 48 hostages remain in captivity, though only about 20 are thought to be alive.
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The proposal also calls for Hamas to surrender all administrative authority over Gaza to a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” supported by Arab and Islamic states, with oversight from a new international transitional body—dubbed the Board of Peace—to be chaired personally by Mr Trump.
While Hamas said it was prepared to hand over Gaza’s administration to such a consensus body, it stressed that broader political questions—“the future of the Gaza Strip and the rights of the Palestinian people”—remained under internal consultation “within a national framework.”
Hamas’s announcement marks the first time it has explicitly agreed to Mr Trump’s hostage-exchange formula.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, doubled down on the U.S. warning. “I think that the entire world should hear the president of the United States loud and clear. Hamas has an opportunity to accept this plan and move forward in a peaceful and prosperous manner in the region. If they don’t, the consequences, unfortunately, are going to be very tragic,” she said.
Mr Netanyahu, though standing beside Mr Trump when the plan was first unveiled, quickly restated his opposition to Palestinian statehood, telling Israelis in a later video statement: “It’s not written in the agreement. We said we would strongly oppose a Palestinian state.”
The framework nonetheless promises full humanitarian aid into Gaza once an agreement is secured. European and Middle Eastern governments have broadly welcomed the initiative. The Palestinian Authority called Mr Trump’s efforts “sincere and determined.” Pakistan initially expressed support but later distanced itself, saying the final U.S. draft did not align with a Muslim-majority bloc’s proposals.
Mr Trump has signalled that failure to accept the deal would give Israel a green light to “finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas,” a phrase echoed by Mr Netanyahu.
The backdrop to these high-stakes negotiations is Israel’s grinding military campaign in Gaza, launched after Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251. Since then, at least 66,288 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. In the 24 hours before Friday noon alone, 63 more fatalities were reported.
Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said this week that forces were “tightening the siege” around Gaza City to secure hostage releases and dismantle Hamas. Hundreds of thousands have fled south following evacuation orders, but vast numbers remain trapped. Mr Gallant has warned that those who stay behind will be treated as “terrorists and supporters of terror.”
Humanitarian groups condemned the tactic. James Elder, UNICEF’s spokesman, said the notion of a safe zone in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza was “farcical.” “Bombs are dropped from the sky with chilling predictability. Schools, which have been designated as temporary shelters, are regularly reduced to rubble,” he said.
