CAIRO (AP) — Both Israel and now Hamas have signaled support for the new U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza and release all remaining hostages there. President Donald Trump says he thinks Hamas is ready for a “lasting peace” and has told Israel to stop bombing the territory, but he warns that “all bets will be off” if Hamas doesn't move quickly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he hopes to announce the release of all hostages “in the coming days.”
Many uncertainties remain around the plan ahead of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt on Monday. Already, Netanyahu says there will not be a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Tuesday marks two years since the war began.
Here’s what we know.
The plan’s essentials
All hostilities would immediately end. Within 72 hours, Hamas would release all hostages it holds, living or dead. The militants still have 48 hostages. Israel believes 20 of them are alive.
Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in its prisons and 1,700 people detained from Gaza since the war began, including all women and children. Israel also would hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for each body of a hostage handed over.
Israeli troops would withdraw from Gaza after Hamas disarms, and an international security force would deploy. The territory would be placed under international governance, with Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair overseeing it.
An interim administration of Palestinian technocrats would run day-to-day affairs. Hamas would have no part in administering Gaza, and all its military infrastructure, including tunnels, would be dismantled. Members who pledge to live peacefully would be granted amnesty. Those who wish to leave Gaza can.
Palestinians will not be expelled from Gaza. Large amounts of humanitarian aid would be allowed and would be run by “neutral international bodies,” including the U.N. and the Red Crescent.
What Hamas has said
A Hamas statement on Friday said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. The statement made no mention of Hamas disarming, which is a key Israeli demand.
The statement also reiterated its longstanding openness to handing power over to a politically independent Palestinian body.
What Israel has said
Netanyahu on Friday said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the “first stage” of Trump’s plan, apparently referring to the release of hostages. But his office said in a statement that Israel was committed to ending the war based on principles it has set out before. Netanyahu has long said Hamas must surrender and disarm.
Israel’s army on Saturday said the country’s leaders had instructed it to prepare for the first phase of the U.S. plan. Late on Saturday, Netanyahu said the military will continue to hold territories it controls in Gaza, and that Hamas will be disarmed in the plan’s second phase, diplomatically “or through a military path by us.”
What remains uncertain
Questions include the timing of key steps. One Hamas official said it would need days or weeks to locate some hostages' bodies. And senior Hamas officials have suggested there are still major disagreements requiring further negotiations.
It’s not clear Hamas officials can agree among themselves on the plan. One official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Araby television that Hamas would refuse foreign administration of the Gaza Strip and that the entry of foreign forces would be “unacceptable.”
Parts of the plan remain unclear. Hamas wants Israel to leave Gaza completely, but the plan says Israel would maintain a “security perimeter presence,” which could mean it would keep a buffer zone inside the territory.
And the future of Gaza remains in question. The plan says that if the Palestinian Authority, which administers the West Bank, reforms sufficiently and Gaza redevelopment advances, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
What happens next
A senior Egyptian official on Saturday said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Egypt to lead the U.S. negotiating team. Delegations from Israel and Hamas will join the talks under way.
The official also said Arab mediators are preparing for a comprehensive dialogue among Palestinians aimed at unifying their position toward Gaza’s future. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.
What Palestinians and Israelis say
There is cautious hope but also memories of negotiations failing earlier in the war.
“We want to end the war by any means possible because we are tired,” one displaced Palestinian in Gaza, Arafa al-Amour, said Saturday. Others said they hoped Arab nations would pressure Hamas to end it.
A group representing some families of hostages in Gaza said Saturday that the prospect of seeing loved ones return home “has never been closer.” They appealed to Trump to keep pushing “with full force” and warned that “extremists on both sides” will try to sabotage the plan.
Two vocal members of the right-wing bloc of Netanyahu’s coalition, ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, have criticized the plan’s progress but didn’t threaten to immediately leave the government.
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Anna reported from New York.
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