Jerusalem: Hamas said Tuesday it will discuss US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza within the group and with other Palestinian factions before responding.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already thrown his support behind it but it’s unclear whether Hamas will agree and when it would give its response.
The proposal demands that Hamas effectively surrender and disarm in return for an end to fighting, humanitarian aid for Palestinians and the promise of reconstruction in Gaza — all desperately hoped for by the population in the devastated territory where the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has topped 66,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, backing and support were pouring in for the proposal from the international community. Trump and Netanyahu said after talks Monday in the White House that they had agreed on the plan.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said that his country has accepted Trump’s “plan for ending the war in Gaza and for a better future” that it is now up to Hamas to announce its position.
“We will now see if Hamas accepts the president’s plan,” Saar said during a visit to Belgrade, Serbia’s capital.
He accused Hamas of trying in the past to change the terms or avoid implementing any past agreements. “We will see,” he said.
“We want to see our hostages come home after two years … Alive and dead,” Saar said. “We also want to see a different Gaza: deradicalised, demilitarised and no longer posing a threat to Israel and its citizens.”
The Kremlin says Russia hopes Trump’s plan for Gaza succeeds. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters that Russia welcomes Trump’s efforts aimed at “ending the ongoing tragedy” and that Moscow officials “certainly wish that this plan is implemented and helps achieve peace in the Middle East.”
Peskov noted that Russia has maintained contacts with all parties to the conflict and stands ready to take efforts to help the settlement if asked to do so.
