Hamas to respond to Trump’s Gaza plan soon, group leader says

ISTANBUL

A Hamas leader said late Thursday that the group will soon respond to US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.

“Hamas is discussing the plan seriously, regardless of the many reservations we have,” Mohammed Nazzal told Doha-based Al Jazeera television in an interview.

He said Hamas is serious about seeking understandings “away from the pressure of time and threats.”

Nazzal said Hamas began internal and external consultations about the plan with Palestinian factions, independent figures, and mediators.

The final response “will take into account the interests of the Palestinian people and the strategic constants of the Palestinian cause,” he added.

On Sept. 29, the White House issued a detailed plan calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, followed by a comprehensive program for reconstruction and a reorganization of the enclave’s political and security situation.

The plan seeks to turn Gaza into a weapons-free zone, with a transitional governance mechanism, overseen directly by Trump through a new international body tasked with monitoring implementation.

It includes the release of all Israeli captives held by Hamas within 72 hours of approval, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The plan stipulates halting hostilities, disarming the Palestinian resistance, and Israel’s gradual withdrawal from Gaza, to be governed by a technocratic authority under the supervision of an international body led by the US president.

Trump said he would give Hamas “three or four days” to respond to his proposal to end the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.