[Voice of the Observer Network]
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking through social media on Friday evening, welcomed the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) response on the “20-point plan” and said he believed the other side was ready to lasting peace, urging Israel to immediately stop its bombing of Gaza.
According to a report by the Israel Times on the 4th, Trump's response caught Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu unprepared. Because he originally thought Hamas's response was equivalent to a "disguised rejection" of the US ceasefire proposal.
Hamas issued a statement on the evening of the 3rd, announcing that it would submit a response to Trump's "20-point plan" to the mediator, and expressed its willingness to negotiate through the mediator to implement the relevant plan.
According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu then held an emergency consultation meeting overnight, with the head of the security department, Defense Minister Katz, and Strategic Affairs Minister Delmer attending, while the far-right finance minister Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben-Gewil, who opposed the end of the war, were not invited.
Israeli media revealed that Netanyahu particularly emphasized during the meeting that Israel needs to coordinate its response with the United States to avoid giving the outside world the impression that "Hamas has accepted the proposal positively." But Israeli security officials involved in the negotiations held a different view, believing that Hamas's statement could pave the way for an agreement.
Hours later, in the early hours of Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office issued a rare statement during the Jewish “Sabbath” announcing that Israel was ready to “immediately implement the first phase of Trump’s plan to immediately release all detainees.”
“We will continue to work fully with the President and his team to end this war in accordance with the principles put forward by Israel, which are consistent with Trump’s vision to end the war.”
However, the statement did not mention Trump's call for Israel to immediately stop its attacks on Gaza. However, Israeli media reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were subsequently ordered to stop offensive operations in Gaza City and switch to a purely defensive deployment.
The IDF also issued a statement saying that "according to the instructions of the political leadership," Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir has instructed the troops to "prepare for the implementation of Trump's plan for the first phase of the rescue of detainees" after holding a "special assessment meeting on the latest situation" with senior generals, but the statement did not elaborate on the specific content of the order.
In fact, however, the artillery fire continues. According to Agence France-Presse, the Gaza Civil Defense Agency stated on the 4th that Israel carried out dozens of air strikes and shelling on Gaza City.
The British "Guardian" quoted local residents as saying that after Trump demanded a ceasefire in Israel, Israeli tanks shelled Tarataini Street, the main artery road in the center of Gaza City. Israeli military aircraft also stepped up bombing of Gaza City, hitting multiple houses in the Rimal neighborhood. The southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis was also attacked.
During talks with Netanyahu at the White House on September 29, Trump announced Israel’s acceptance of the “20-point plan”.
According to the White House documents, the “20 Points Plan” requires Hamas to release all detainees within 72 hours of Israel’s public acceptance of the plan; Israel to allow international humanitarian aid to enter Gaza after all hostages have been released; Gaza to be temporarily managed by a committee of technical experts under international supervision; Gaza to start the de-militarization process, Hamas to deposit arms and not participate in the governance of Gaza; Israel to set up a buffer zone and phased withdrawal of troops in Gaza.
In order to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the full withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip, Hamas agreed to release all Israeli hostages on the basis of Trump’s proposal and deliver the bodies of the victims, provided that the necessary conditions for the exchange were met.
Hamas said it agreed to transfer the administration of the Gaza Strip to an independent Palestinian agency (technical bureaucracy).Trump’s proposal involves the future of the Gaza Strip and other issues related to the inherent rights of the Palestinian people, which will be discussed within the framework of the Palestinian people, and Hamas will also participate and contribute responsibly to it.
Subsequently, Trump posted on social media "Real Social" that based on the statement just issued by Hamas, he believed that the other party was ready to achieve lasting peace.
Trump called on Israel to immediately stop its bombing of Gaza in order to rescue the hostages safely and quickly, and said that the current situation is too dangerous, and relevant details have been discussed. He stressed that this is not only related to Gaza, but also to the peace that the entire Middle East has long pursued.
According to Agence France-Presse, a senior Hamas official revealed on the 4th that Hamas is ready to immediately negotiate a ceasefire agreement in Gaza to finalize all outstanding matters.
According to Israeli Channel 12, the first round of mediation talks between Israel and Hamas may begin in Egypt on 5 local time, most likely in the Red Sea coastal city of Sham Sheikh.
A U.S. official told the Israeli Times that U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkov, and Trump’s son-in-law, Kushner, are planning to travel to Egypt this weekend to help determine the details of the U.S. ceasefire plan.