The plan called for Hamas to return all Israeli hostages and for the Israeli military to begin withdrawing from parts of the Gaza Strip in phases.
Hamas said in a statement Friday it has agreed to parts of the ceasefire deal that President Trump outlined earlier this week, including a demand to release all hostages — but the group suggested other portions of the deal should be subject to negotiation.
A U.S. official told CBS News the United States views Hamas’ response as positive, though there are details that still need to be hammered out, such as the decommissioning of weapons, which may begin as soon as next week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the deal on Monday. Earlier Friday, Mr. Trump gave Hamas until Sunday evening to accept the deal, or « all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. »
After Hamas released its statement, Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that he believes the group is « ready for a lasting PEACE. » He pushed Israel to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
« Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out », the president wrote.
« In light of Hamas’s response, Israel is preparing to immediately implement the first phase of Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all hostages », a statement released by Netanyahu’s office early Saturday morning local time read. « We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set forth by Israel that are consistent with President Trump’s vision. »
In a separate statement, the Israel Defense Forces said that its high-level military officials held a meeting overnight, in which Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, « instructed to advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages. »
An official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record told the Associated Press that Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike. The official said no forces have been removed from the strip.
