President Trump said Friday that Israel should stop bombing Gaza and prepare for the release of its hostages because he now believes Hamas is "ready for a lasting PEACE."
Why it matters: This is the first time since returning to office that Trump has tried to force Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the fighting.
Driving the news: Hamas responded to Trump's Gaza peace plan with a "yes, but."
- The group said it was willing to release all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and a full Israeli military withdrawal.
- But while it accepted parts of the Trump proposal, Hamas requested technical talks on other parts and political negotiations to settle the rest.
- Trump had hours earlier threatened to unleash "hell" if Hamas didn't accept his plan by Sunday. With Hamas requesting further negotiations, it's not yet clear how long the president is willing to wait for a resolution.
State of play: "We are already in discussions on details to be worked out," Trump said in a Truth Social post, in which he also said that Israel's attacks must cease because it's currently "far too dangerous" to get the hostages out.
- Trump's public pressure is an unwelcome twist for Netanyahu. He will have a hard time refusing his only major international backer.
- Qatar and Egypt welcomed Hamas' response and said they were already preparing to hold talks on a deal to end the war.
What they're saying: "The priority is to stop the war and massacres, and from this perspective, we responded positively to the Trump plan," Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera and stressed Hamas agrees to the first nine points in Trump's plan.
- In a statement, Hamas said it appreciated the work from Trump along with Arab and Muslim countries to create a plan that calls for "an end to the war on the Gaza Strip, the exchange of prisoners, the immediate entry of aid, the rejection of occupation of the Strip, and the rejection of the forcible displacement of our Palestinian people from it." Those are the aspects of the plan Hamas likes.
- Hamas then stressed that in return for an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, it agrees to release all hostages alive and deceased, according to the exchange ratio set out in Trump's plan.
- Abu Marzouk said Hamas wants to hold negotiations on the details of the Israeli withdrawal.
Behind the scenes: An Israeli official told Axios Netanyahu was surprised by Trump's response.
- In consultations Netanyahu held on Friday, after Hamas' response and before Trump's announcement, he stressed that he views Hamas' response as a rejection of Trump's plan.
- The Israeli official said Netanyahu emphasized the need to coordinate with the U.S. on their response so as to ensure it doesn't become established that Hamas answered positively to Trump's plan.
- The official added that the Israeli negotiating team handling the hostage issue actually viewed Hamas' response as a positive reaction that opens a pathway to reaching a deal.
The Trump plan gives Hamas 72 hours to release all 20 live hostages and the remains of 28 deceased hostages once a deal is reached.
- In return, Israel would release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails for killing Israelis, and 1,700 Palestinians detained by Israel in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
- Hamas said in its statement that it will be able to release all of the hostages "provided that the necessary field conditions for carrying out the exchange are met." Sources with knowledge said Hamas told the mediators it doesn't know where the bodies of all the deceased hostages are and therefore will need more than 72 hours.
- Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that handing over all hostages within 72 hours is "theoretical and unrealistic" and explained that it could take months to locate all the bodies of the dead hostages.
Driving the news: Trump presented his peace plan on Monday. Netanyahu accepted it publicly.
- Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have been urging Hamas to give a positive response even if they don't agree to all of it.
- Hamas said in a statement on Friday that it had given its response after consultations within its leadership institutions, broad consultations with other Palestinian factions, and consultations with the mediators.
- The group said it's now ready "to enter immediately, through the mediators, into negotiations to discuss the details."
- In a video posted on his Truth Social account, Trump said "we are very close" to ending the war in Gaza and stressed all parties "will be treated fairly."
The big picture: In its statement, Hamas said it agrees to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats "based on Palestinian national consensus and relying on Arab and Islamic support."
- Hamas has agreed to that general principle before. Hamas didn't say in its statement whether it agrees to the detailed governance principles laid out in the Trump plan.
- "As for the other issues contained in President Trump's proposal concerning the future of the Gaza Strip and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, these are linked to a broad national position and to relevant laws and international resolutions, and they will be discussed through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework in which Hamas will participate and contribute fully and responsibly," Hamas said.
Between the lines: That sounds like a rejection of Trump's plan for a "Board of Peace" — which he would chair himself — to guide a technocratic government in Gaza.
- In its public response, Hamas also didn't refer directly or indirectly to the demands in the Trump plan that it will disarm, and that an international stabilization force with soldiers from Arab and Muslim countries will be established.
- Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that all details related to the international force "require understanding and clarification."
- He also stressed that Hamas is willing to enter negotiations about the group's weapons.
Go deeper: How an Israeli attack inadvertently launched Trump's Gaza peace plan
This story has been updated with new details throughout.
