Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye urged Hamas to give a positive response to President Donald Trump’s proposed deal for ending the war in Gaza, Axios reported yesterday, citing two sources with knowledge of the talks.
The came after Trump gave the Palestinian group three to four days to accept the plan, warning of ‘a very sad end’ if the group rejected it.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt shared the 20-point plan with Hamas after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had appeared alongside Trump at the White House and endorsed the document, saying it satisfied Israel’s war aims.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump said Israeli and Arab leaders had already endorsed the plan and that ‘we’re just waiting for Hamas’ to make its decision. He gave the group ‘three or four days’ to respond.
The plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body.
Many elements of the 20 points have been included in numerous ceasefire deals proposed over the last two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Israel and Hamas.
One of Hamas’s main conditions since the outset of the war has been a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of the remaining hostages. And while the group has indicated its readiness to relinquish administrative authority, it has consistently ruled out disarming.
“What Trump has proposed is the full adoption of all Israeli conditions, which do not grant the Palestinian people or the residents of the Gaza Strip any legitimate rights,” a Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
However, Hamas faces considerable pressure to accept the plan, with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Qatar and Egypt all welcoming the initiative.
Türkiye’s head of intelligence will join Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha to discuss the peace proposal later, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry said. Türkiye has not previously been involved as a key mediator during efforts over the last two years to bring peace to Gaza.
It was unclear if Hamas officials would join the meeting. The last time Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a US peace plan in Qatar, Israel tried, and failed, to kill them with a missile strike.
Netanyahu apologised on Monday to his Qatari counterpart for the September 9 attack, the White House said.
Although he initially backed the Trump plan, Netanyahu later expressed doubts about elements of the proposal, including the prospects for eventual Palestinian statehood – something he has repeatedly ruled out.
Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from a war-weary Israeli public to end the conflict. But he also risks the collapse of his governing coalition if far-right ministers believe he has made too many concessions for a peace deal.
In Gaza itself, some Palestinians hailed Trump’s peace plan, saying it could end the bombardment and deaths, but they wondered whether it would end Israel’s control of the enclave.
“We want the war to end, but we want the occupation army that killed tens of thousands of us to get out and leave us alone,” said Salah Abu Amr, 60, a father of six from Gaza City.
“We hope the plan will end the war, but we are not sure it will, neither Trump nor Netanyahu can be trusted,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
Israel’s has killed more than 66,000 people, Gaza health authorities say.
Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City yesterday, reaching the centre of the territory, which Netanyahu has described as the last Hamas bastion.
Israeli planes also dropped new leaflets over the city ordering Palestinians to immediately leave and head south.
Italy said it would stop tracking an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza with a military vessel, leaving activists vulnerable to Israeli forces.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of more than 40 civilian boats with more than 500 people including parliamentarians, lawyers and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aims to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave.
Once the convoy gets within 278km of Gaza’s shoreline, the Italian frigate accompanying it will stop, the Italian defence ministry said in a statement, adding that it expected it to happen early today.
Italy has urged flotilla members to accept a compromise proposal to drop aid in a Cyprus port and avoid a confrontation with Israeli forces. Flotilla representatives have repeatedly refused the offer.
“We say again: the flotilla sails onwards. The Italian navy will not derail this mission. The humanitarian demand to break the blockade cannot be walked back to port,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement.
Italy and Spain deployed navy vessels last week to assist the flotilla, after it was hit by drones armed with stun grenades and irritants in international waters off Greece, but without any intention to engage militarily.
Israel did not respond to flotilla accusations that it was behind last week’s attacks, but it has vowed to use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its blockade is legal as part of its war.
An Italian spokeswoman for the flotilla, Maria Elena Delia, said activists were bracing for another strike in the coming hours.
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