Trump tells Israel to 'stop' bombing after Hamas ceasefire response

Hamas has accepted several parts of United States President Donald Trump's 20-point plan for a ceasefire in Israel's near two-year offensive on Gaza and is ready to start immediate talks on freeing the Israeli hostages, the group said, but some elements of the proposal require further negotiations.

"President Trump's statements on the immediate cessation of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip are encouraging," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said on Friday night.

"Hamas is ready to immediately begin negotiations to achieve a prisoner exchange, end the war and ensure the withdrawal of the (Israeli) army from the Gaza Strip," he added.

In a post early on Saturday, Trump wrote, "Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!"

He also shared the Hamas statement on his social media – in an almost unheard of move for a US president – as did the White House.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed and was "encouraged" by the Hamas statement, and urged all parties to seize the opportunity to bring the conflict in the Gaza Strip to an end, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.

In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry also welcomed Hamas' acceptance of Trump's plan and the group's willingness to release all hostages.

"We also affirm our support for the statements made by the president calling for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate the safe and swift release of hostages, and to achieve rapid results that would put an end to the bloodshed of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," ministry spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari wrote on X.

Al Ansari added that Qatar is working with Egypt, in coordination with the US, to continue discussions on the plan and ensure a path toward ending the conflict.

Egypt said it hoped "this positive development will lead all parties to rise to the level of responsibility by committing to implementing President Trump's plan on the ground and end the war".

Trump's plan, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, combines a ceasefire-for-hostages deal, phased Israeli withdrawal, and international oversight on Gaza's post-war reconstruction and governance.

He proposed an international transitional governance body that would be overseen by himself and Tony Blair, who was British prime minister during the 2003 US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq based on false claims about weapons of mass destruction. Blair is regarded by many in the Arab world and in the United Kingdom as a "war criminal".

In its statement, Hamas said it was ready to "hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats) based on Palestinian national consensus and with Arab and Islamic support".

The group's response, which did not address the issue of disarmament, stated that it had agreed "to release all occupation captives – both living and the remains – according to the exchange formula outlined in Trump's proposal, with the provision of field conditions necessary for the exchange".

But a senior Hamas official, Mahmoud Mardawi, told AFP on Friday that Trump's plan was "vague, ambiguous and lacks clarity".

Netanyahu's office said in response that Israel was "preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages".

The Israeli military is waging an air and ground offensive on Gaza city, the territory's largest urban center, from which hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee.

As the war nears the two-year mark and the death toll continues to rise, protesters around the world have railed against Israel's interception of a flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists to Gaza.

On Friday, the organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said its last remaining boat at sea had been intercepted, while Israel's Foreign Ministry said it had deported four Italian participants.

Agencies contributed to this story.