Web Desk/AFP

JERUSALEM: Hamas said on Saturday that it was ready to start talks to resolve all outstanding issues under US President Donald Trump&#39;s Gaza ceasefire deal.&nbsp;&quot;We are ready to begin negotiations immediately to finalize all issues,&quot; a senior Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity.&nbsp;The group said on Friday that it was ready to release all hostages held in the Gaza Strip but did not address calls for its disarmament and exile from the Palestinian territory after the war&#39;s end.&nbsp;Trump welcomes the moveUS President Donald Trump said on Friday he believed Hamas was ready for peace and told Israel to stop bombing Gaza, after the Palestinian group declared it was ready to free hostages under his ceasefire plan.&nbsp; <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115312298602997974/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; min-height: 0px;"></iframe> &quot;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!&quot; Trump posted on Truth Social.</div></div>&nbsp;EU chief welcomes Hamas response to peace planEU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday welcomed Hamas&#39;s positive reaction to a peace deal proposed by US President Donald Trump and said halting the war in Gaza was &quot;within reach.&quot; <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1974364526427476015&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=6dba3c39db499a4bca4738b69d41b8d8253dc320&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 465px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div> &quot;Hamas&#39; stated readiness to release hostages and engage on the basis of the recent proposal is encouraging,&quot; von der Leyen wrote on X. &quot;This moment must be seized. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages are within reach.&quot;</div></div>&nbsp;Heavy bombardmentBut despite Trump&#39;s appeal, Gaza&#39;s civil defense agency reported that Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City overnight, with a number of nearby hospitals saying they received casualties from strikes.&nbsp;&quot;It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump&#39;s call to halt the bombing,&quot; civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.&nbsp;Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.&nbsp;Gaza City&#39;s Baptist Hospital said it received casualties from a strike on a home in the city&#39;s Tuffah neighborhood, including four dead and several wounded.&nbsp;Further south, Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.&nbsp;The US leader had given the Palestinian group until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan or else face &quot;all hell.&quot;&nbsp;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s office had said in response to Trump&#39;s call that Israel was &quot;preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages.&quot;&nbsp;In its statement, Hamas also agreed to hand over power in Gaza to technocrats but said it would &quot;participate and contribute responsibly&quot; in Palestinian discussions regarding the territory&#39;s future. &lsquo;Egypt to host Palestinian conference on Gaza&rsquo;A senior Hamas official said on Saturday that Egypt would organize a conference for Palestinian factions to decide on the post-war future of the Gaza Strip, after the group agreed to release hostages under a US ceasefire plan.&nbsp;Egypt will host an &quot;intra-Palestinian dialogue on Palestinian unity and the future of Gaza, including the administration of the Gaza Strip,&quot; the official told AFP.

Middle East

Group has not addressed calls for disarmament, exile from Palestinian territory; Egypt to host Palestinian conference on Gaza; EU chief welcomes Hamas response to peace plan.






Hamas says ready to begin talks to finalize Gaza ceasefire deal

DOHA: Hamas officials want amendments to clauses in US President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Gaza peace plan, including on disarmament, a Palestinian source close to the group&rsquo;s leadership told AFP on Wednesday. Hamas negotiators held discussions Tuesday with Turkish, Egyptian and Qatari officials in Doha, the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters and adding that the group needed &ldquo;two or three days at most&rdquo; to respond. Trump&rsquo;s plan, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, the group&rsquo;s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. But the Palestinian source said: &ldquo;Hamas wants to amend some of the clauses, such as the one on disarmament and the expulsion of Hamas and faction cadres.&rdquo; Hamas leaders also want &ldquo;international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip&rdquo; and guarantees that no assassination attempts will be made inside or outside the territory. Six people were killed in an Israeli attack last month on Hamas officials meeting in Doha to discuss an earlier ceasefire proposal. The source said Hamas was also in touch with &ldquo;other regional and Arab parties,&rdquo; without giving details. ClarificationAnother source familiar with the negotiations told AFP the Palestinian group was split over Trump&rsquo;s plan. &ldquo;So far, there are two views within Hamas: the first supports unconditional approval because the important thing is to have a ceasefire guaranteed by Trump, provided that the mediators guarantee Israel&rsquo;s implementation of the plan,&rdquo; the source said, also requesting anonymity. But others have &ldquo;great reservations on important clauses,&rdquo; the source added. &ldquo;They reject disarmament and for any Palestinian citizen to be taken away from Gaza.&rdquo; &ldquo;They support a conditional agreement with clarifications that take into account demands by Hamas and the resistance factions so that the occupation of the Gaza Strip is not legitimized while the resistance is criminalized,&rdquo; the source said. &ldquo;Some factions reject the plan, but discussions are ongoing and things will become clearer soon.&rdquo; In an interview with Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said parts of the Gaza plan required further &ldquo;clarification&rdquo; and talks, including Israel&rsquo;s withdrawal from the strip. &ldquo;The issue of [Israeli] withdrawal, of course, requires some clarification and some work, and I believe this must be discussed in detail. This is primarily the duty of the Palestinian side, along with the Israeli side,&rdquo; he said.

A source close to Hamas leadership reveals the group is seeking to amend the disarmament clause in former President Trump's peace plan. The move comes amid ongoing tensions and efforts to negotiate future terms.

Articles tagged with "Gaza deal"

Hamas says ready to begin talks to finalize Gaza ceasefire deal

Hamas seeks to amend disarmament clause in Trump plan, source says