WASHINGTON, 03 Oct. - (ANA) - Hamas has said it will release all its remaining hostages, living and dead, and negotiate terms of a peace deal in order to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

 

The group delivered its official response hours after Donald Trump warned that it would face “all hell” if it did not agree to his 20-point plan to end the conflict.

 

“In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss the details of this agreement,” the terror group said in a statement.

 

The response brings the prospect of peace a step closer even if major hurdles remain.

 

Hamas said it appreciated Mr Trump’s efforts to achieve peace but that some parts of the plan would need further negotiations.

 

It said it agreed to hand over the administration of Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats.

 

Under Mr Trump’s plan, the strip would temporarily be run by the US president’s board of peace.

 

“Other issues mentioned in President Trump’s proposal regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are connected to a unified national position and relevant international laws and resolutions,” Hamas said.

 

The group’s response left much unsaid, including whether it would disarm, one of Israel’s key demands.

 

A senior official laid out a series of potential stumbling blocks in an interview with Al Jazeera.

 

Mousa Abu Marzouk said that transferring the hostages in the next 72 hours, another key requirement, was “unrealistic” and that the group would not disarm before the Israeli “occupation” ended.

 

Earlier in the day, Mr Trump told the terrorist group that they were surrounded and were “just waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO’, for their lives to be quickly extinguished”.

 

He said every country had signed the deal, adding: “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”

 

Mr Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu set out the plan on Monday, initially telling Hamas it had 72 hours to agree.

“THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER,” Mr Trump added.

 

‘What does Donald Trump do?’

Michal Wahid Hanna, of the International Crisis Group, said the broad, vague framework of the 20-point plan made for an inevitable Hamas response.

 

“They basically said ‘yes, but…’” he said.

 

“The question now is what does Donald Trump do?”

 

Does he say all sides are now broadly in agreement, the hostages can be freed, and negotiations can move to the next phase?

 

“Or does he see this as a kind of rejection in which case he may give Israel carte blanche to continue its war effort.”

 

The White House released a photograph of the president recording his response to the Hamas statement soon after details of it emerged.

 

The plan calls for a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

 

It also sets out proposals for a transitional government, with a “board of peace” led by Mr Trump and includes Sir Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.

 

Sources earlier suggested that Hamas was divided over Mr Trump’s plan, with different factions pushing for unconditional approval and a ceasefire to be underwritten by mediators, and other groups wanting more clarification on how the broad framework would be implemented.

 

The group must also navigate a geographical split between commanders on the ground in Gaza and its senior leadership based in the Qatari capital Doha.

 

Murmurings from Gulf capitals earlier in the day suggested Hamas may come under pressure from Arab leaders to accept the deal in the interests of regional stability and economic growth.

 

The Palestinian cause has long been an article of faith in the Arab world. But Saudi Arabia, for example, had signalled it was willing to consider normalising relations with Israel and build economic ties, until the Gaza war derailed talks.

 

Amr Moussa, the former Egyptian foreign minister, said: “The mood is to welcome the Trump initiative because of the general atmosphere of pessimism in the Middle East.”

 

The war in Gaza will reach its second anniversary next week.

 

More than 66,000 people have been killed, according to local authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, since Israel launched its bombardment.

 

The offensive followed the Oct 7 attack, when more than 1,000 Israelis were murdered.

 

Friday brought fresh reports of heavy bombing and shelling of Gaza City. Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 11 people had been killed across the territory.   - (ANA) - 

 

AB/ANA/03 October 2025  - - -