Factbox-Comparing Hamas response with Trump's Gaza plan

By Kanishka Singh
Fri, October 3, 2025 


Palestinians inspect the site of an evacuated house, after it was hit by an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ebrahim Hajjaj


By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Hamas responded on Friday to President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza's future, including ending Israel's war in the enclave.

The Palestinian militant group accepted certain key parts of the Trump plan, including ending the war, Israel's withdrawal, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives, aid and recovery efforts, and an opposition to Palestinian expulsion from the territory.

There were apparent differences in Hamas' statement and Trump's plan on the future of Gaza's governance and Hamas' own involvement in the territory's future. Hamas said it sought further talks.

A comparison of Hamas' statement with Trump's plan is below:

WHAT DOES HAMAS SAY IT IS OPEN TO ACCEPTING IN TRUMP'S PLAN?

Release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives:

Hamas said it would release Israeli hostages in Gaza both living and dead "according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump's proposal, with the necessary field conditions for implementing the exchange."

It did not specify what it meant by "necessary field conditions." The militant group said it was ready to immediately have talks through mediators to discuss further details.

The Trump plan says all hostages will be returned by Hamas "within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement."

Trump's proposal said that thereafter, Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, plus 1,700 Gazans arrested since October 7, 2023, including all women and children. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 dead Gazans, the Trump plan says.

Ceasefire, end of war and Israeli withdrawal:

Hamas said it accepted the framework of an end to the war and Israel's "full withdrawal" from the enclave. Hamas' statement did not note any different stages of Israel's withdrawal and said it rejected Israeli occupation.

The Trump plan said "Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release." It said that during that time, Israel's military assault, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and "battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal."

Aid, recovery and no Palestinian expulsion:

Hamas welcomed that Trump's plan urged a surge in aid into Gaza while not calling for Palestinians to be expelled from the territory.

The Trump plan said aid will be immediately sent into Gaza in quantities consistent with a January 19 agreement. It would also involve rehabilitation of infrastructure, hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads. Aid will proceed through the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other international institutions under the plan.

Hamas said it rejected Palestinian displacement from Gaza. The Trump plan said that "no one will be forced to leave" and those who wish to leave will be free to return. The Trump plan encouraged Palestinians to stay in Gaza.

WHERE DOES HAMAS APPEAR TO BE AT ODDS WITH TRUMP PLAN?

Foreign involvement in Gaza's interim governance:

The Trump plan said "Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee," though it does not identify any Palestinian individual or group by name as being involved in the transition.

The Trump plan says the panel would be supervised by a new international transitional body that Trump would head and which would include other members, including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Hamas said it would agree to hand over Gaza's administration "to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats) based on Palestinian national consensus and supported by Arab and Islamic backing." Hamas has previously offered to hand over Gaza's administration to a different body.

Hamas did not comment on the proposed deployment of a "temporary International Stabilisation Force" in Gaza under the Trump plan for which the U.S. will work with Arab partners.

Hamas having no role in Gaza's future:

The Trump plan said Hamas will "agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form." The plan also said there will be a "process of demilitarisation of Gaza."

Hamas maintained in its response that the militant group sees itself as part of a "comprehensive Palestinian national framework." Its Friday statement did not comment on demilitarizing. It has previously rejected such calls.

"This is tied to a collective national position and in accordance with relevant international laws and resolutions, to be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, in which Hamas will be included and will contribute with full responsibility," Hamas said on Friday.

The Hamas statement did not comment on the proposal in the Trump plan to give amnesty and safe passage to other countries for Hamas members who "decommission" their weapons.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington)

Israel pounds Gaza, killing 70, despite Trump’s call for it to halt bombing

Al Jazeera
Sat, October 4, 2025


An explosion is seen following an Israeli attack on Gaza City's Omar al-Mukhtar Street [Saeed Jaras/Anadolu]
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Israeli attacks across the besieged Gaza Strip have killed at least 70 Palestinians, medical sources said, despite calls from United States President Donald Trump for Israel to stop its bombardment after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war.

At least 45 of the victims killed in bombardments and air strikes on Saturday were in the famine-struck Gaza City, where the Israeli army has been pressing an offensive in recent weeks, forcing some one million residents to flee to the overcrowded south.

Eighteen people were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike on a residential home in the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City, medics said. The attack also damaged several buildings nearby.

In a statement shared on Telegram, Gaza’s civil defence agency said seven children between the ages of two months and eight years old were among those killed.\

Israeli forces also targeted a displacement camp in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, killing two children and wounding at least eight others.

Al-Mawasi is a so-called safe humanitarian zone that the Israeli army has been ordering Palestinian families to evacuate to. But the area has been repeatedly targeted over the last few weeks and months.

There have also been air raids on other areas, including in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from az-Zawayda.

“Hospitals are unable to treat all of these Palestinians,” she said, referring to the handful of battered medical facilities that remain functional in the north amid a severe fuel shortage.

“What is happening on the ground doesn’t show that there is any type of ceasefire,” she said.
Trump demands urgency

On Saturday, Trump urged Hamas to move quickly to release captives and finalise negotiations over his plan to end the war, “or else all bets will be off”.

“I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let’s get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

In a separate post later on Saturday, Trump said Israel had agreed to an initial “withdrawal line” and that it was also shared with Hamas.

“When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal,” he wrote.

Hamas had agreed to certain key parts of Trump’s 20-point proposal, including Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners. But the group has left some questions unanswered, such as whether it would be willing to disarm.

Trump will be sending his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Egypt to finalise the technical details of the captive release and discuss a lasting peace deal, according to a White House official. Egypt will also host delegations from Israel and Hamas on Monday to discuss things further, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The first phase of Trump’s proposal includes the return of all captives, dead and alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Speaking to reporters from Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed negotiators will be working on a timeline for the release of the remaining captives under Trump’s Gaza plan in Egypt.

He also reiterated that the US proposal includes the demilitarisation of Hamas.

That will be achieved either through Trump’s proposal or through Israeli military action, he said. He added he hoped to announce the return of the captives, all while the Israeli military remained deep in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Hamas has decried Israel’s ongoing attacks on the enclave, saying they are proof of “Netanyahu’s lies” about ceasing its offensive in the enclave after Trump’s call.

“The Zionist occupation army continues to commit its horrific crimes and massacres against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said in a statement.

The group called on the international community, including Islamic and Arab states, to take “urgent action to protect and provide relief to our people”.

Adnan Hayajneh, a professor of international relations and US foreign policy at Qatar University, said Hamas wants guarantees that if it releases the Israeli captives, there will be implementation of the rest of Trump’s 20-point plan. This includes a clear picture of what the future governance of Gaza will look like.

“There’ll be a long negotiation, and Hamas will take part in it,” Hayajneh told Al Jazeera.

Arab leaders also aired some reservations about the plan to Trump, “but most of the reservations were not taken into consideration regarding the governance of Gaza, the military forces … the future of arms,” said the professor.

“If you look at the plan, it’s almost a surrender for Hamas,” he added. “I think they’re leaving that bargaining chip, which is very important, the hostages, for the last minute.”

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 67,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and experts believe the actual toll could be as much as three times higher.