Mevlut Ozkan
04 October 2025•Update: 04 October 2025
ISTANBUL
Türkiye said Saturday that Hamas' response to US President Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan would pave the way for lasting peace in the region.
The response by the Palestinian resistance group will “enable the urgent establishment of a ceasefire in Gaza, the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the region, and the steps needed to achieve lasting peace,” said the Foreign Ministry.
It urged the parties to start negotiations to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to implement a two-state solution backed by the international community.
“Israel must immediately cease its attacks on the people of Gaza,” it said.
It added that Ankara will continue to support the negotiations and provide constructive contributions.
Hamas issued its formal response earlier to Trump's plan, in which it approved the release of all Israeli captives, the delivery of the bodies of the deceased, and the handover of Gaza's administration to an independent technocratic Palestinian body.
Earlier Friday, Trump gave Hamas until 6 pm Washington time (2200GMT) on Sunday to approve his plan.
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 mandates a halt to hostilities, disarming all armed groups in Gaza, and Israel’s gradual withdrawal from the war-torn coastal enclave, which is to be governed by a technocratic authority under the supervision of an international body led by the US president.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years. It tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 66,300 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 amid widespread displacement.
