Hamas has indicated its readiness to release all Israeli captives in exchange for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces, while raising significant reservations over key aspects of a peace proposal advanced by Donald Trump.
In a statement shared on Telegram, the Palestinian group said it accepted “in principle” a framework for an exchange of hostages and the establishment of a technocratic administration to govern Gaza.
Hamas said the body would be formed through Palestinian national consensus and supported by Arab and Islamic states.
The movement nonetheless stressed that broader questions over Gaza’s long-term governance and its place within the wider Palestinian struggle could not be decided in isolation. It signalled particular opposition to Trump’s suggestion of an international “peace council” overseeing Gaza, warning such an arrangement risked detaching the enclave from the core Palestinian cause.
Hamas’s position amounts to what observers have described as a “yes – but” response: agreement on limited points, coupled with demands for further negotiations. The group said it was ready to engage with mediators to clarify the deal’s terms.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, declared that Palestine had entered a “pivotal and decisive stage”. Speaking through the official Wafa news agency, he said a temporary constitution would be drafted within three months to guide a transition from authority to statehood. Abbas reaffirmed his intention to hold general elections one year after a ceasefire, a commitment he linked to the New York Declaration.
The president also renewed his push for international recognition of Palestinian statehood, including full membership at the United Nations. But with major differences unresolved over disarmament and governance, the path to consensus among Palestinian factions remains fraught.
