Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an unusual statement between Friday and Saturday, in which he responded to President Donald Trump's declaration - which called on Israel to stop the attacks in Gaza after claiming that Hamas's response to his plan indicates that the terrorist organization "is ready for peace."
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Netanyahu and Trump at a press conference at the White House
(Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
"In light of Hamas's response, Israel is preparing for immediate implementation of the first phase of Trump's plan for the release of all hostages." The statement further said: "We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles Israel has set that align with President Trump's vision."
In his statement, the Prime Minister did not publicly commit to a ceasefire - but in practice the operation to take over Gaza City has already been frozen in recent days. Netanyahu's statement was published about three hours after the dramatic post that President Trump published on his social network Truth Social, in which he declared that "based on the statement Hamas just released, I believe they are ready for lasting PEACE." Trump wrote that "Israel must immediately stop the bombings of Gaza so we can get the hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it's far too dangerous to do that."
Following Trump’s post, the White House amplified his words on X, posting them alongside the caption “PEACE in the MIDDLE EAST.”
Trump's dramatic announcement embarrassed Israel, and sources involved said that Netanyahu was "surprised" - and that as a result, emergency night meetings were held on the response. Hamas said tonight that Trump's statements calling on Israel to stop the bombings are "encouraging," and a senior organization official Taher al-Nunu told the French news agency AFP that "Hamas is ready to immediately start negotiations to reach a prisoner exchange deal, end the war and ensure the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip."
Hamas, we recall, announced Friday that it is ready to release all hostages and begin negotiations on Trump's plan to end the war. Their statement came hours after an ultimatum set by Trump, but the terrorist organization did not detail almost any of the other clauses the President presented - including the demand for its disarmament. "The movement announces its agreement to release all hostages - living and bodies - in accordance with the exchange plan included in President Trump's proposal, and while creating the practical conditions on the ground for carrying out the exchange," Hamas's statement said. "We are ready to immediately enter, through the mediators, into negotiations on the details of the arrangement."
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The statement did not say what would happen to their weapons
(Photo: Hatem Khaled/ Reuters)
The White House described even before Trump's statement that this was an "approval" of the plan, but in practice Hamas gave a very partial response. According to Hamas's response, it is ready to enter negotiations - but is not ready to hand over its weapons and is not ready for demilitarization. It agrees to release the hostages - but not on the timeline the President set, and refuses to accept an international-Arab governing mechanism. Hamas also did not include in its response agreement to the IDF's continued presence in the Gaza Strip. In practice, Hamas ostensibly rejects most of Trump's conditions but leaves an opening for negotiations - so that it won't be accused of refusal.
Despite this, Israeli sources involved in the negotiations say that "there is something to work with". Now, it is likely that Israel will be required to send a negotiating team to Doha, and it may even be required to send a more senior team.