Gaza [Palestine], October 4 (HBTV): Hamas on Friday (local time) announced its agreement to release all Israeli hostages, whether dead or alive, in response to the 20-point Gaza peace plan introduced by US President Donald Trump earlier this week, Al Jazeera reported.
In a statement released on Telegram, Hamas said it was ready to immediately enter negotiations through mediators to discuss the details of the agreement. The group also agreed to hand over the Gaza administration to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats, describing it as being formed on the basis of Palestinian national consensus and supported by Arab and Islamic nations.
The statement added that other issues in Trump’s proposal concerning the future of Gaza and Palestinian rights were linked to a unified national position and international laws and resolutions. These would, it said, be addressed through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework in which Hamas would participate.
The announcement came after President Trump warned Hamas that it was ‘militarily trapped’ and given a final opportunity to accept the peace plan, which has been endorsed by Israel, Arab nations, and global powers.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump condemned Hamas as a long-standing threat in the Middle East, accusing it of carrying out atrocities, including the October 7 attack in Israel. He said more than 25,000 Hamas fighters had already been killed and that the remainder were surrounded.
‘As for the rest, we know where and who you are, and you will be hunted down, and killed,’ Trump wrote, while urging civilians to move to safer parts of Gaza.
Presenting the initiative as a historic chance for peace, Trump said regional and international powers had agreed to the plan, which he claimed could bring stability after ‘3,000 years’ of conflict. He demanded that Hamas release all hostages, including the bodies of those killed, by Sunday evening, Washington, D.C. time.
Warning of dire consequences if the deal was rejected, Trump said that if an agreement was not reached, ‘all hell, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.’
On September 30, Trump told reporters that Hamas had ‘about three or four days’ to respond, stressing that Israel, Arab states, and Muslim nations had already signed on. He added, ‘We want the hostages back immediately, and we want some good behaviour. You don’t get simpler. We’ve signed every country in the Middle East. This is more than Gaza.’
The plan, unveiled earlier this week, aims to end the conflict in Gaza with backing from Israel and Arab nations, along with wider support from Muslim countries in the region.
(ANI)