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Release hostages, disarm Hamas: US releases Gaza peace plan as Trump meets Netanyahu
Trump, while addressing the briefing, said that if Hamas rejects the deal, Israel would have his full backing to destroy Hamas.
In a move that is likely to end the two-year old war in Gaza, the White House on Monday released a peace plan as US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Oval office.
The peace plan includes the release of hostages, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the terms for the surrender of Hamas, the formation of a apolitical committee to temporarily govern Palestinian territories and a plan for the humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Soon after the White House announcement, US President Donald Trump, in a briefing, said that the peace plan is “focused on ending the war immediately, getting all the hostages back… and creating conditions for durable Israeli security and Palestinian success.”
The US President also thanked Netanyahu for “accepting the peace plan”, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, followed by disarmament of Hamas and Israeli withdrawal.
Also Read: Demilitarisation, temporary govt, Hamas surrender: What Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan includes
"I also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we've seen for so many years," Trump said.
The Gaza peace plan comes during the Israeli leader's visit to the US as the pressure mounted over an end the war in Gaza, which has led to over 66,000 Palestinians deaths across Gaza, mostly children.
The peace proposal calls for the release of all hostages held by Hamas since October 7, 2023. It also includes a new government for the Palestinians, which would be made up of Palestinians and experts from across the world.
Trump, while addressing the briefing, said that if Hamas rejects the deal, Israel would have his full backing to destroy Hamas.
“I hope that we're going to have a deal for peace, and if Hamas rejects the deal, which is always possible, they're the only one left, everyone else has accepted it, but I have a feeling that we're going to have a positive answer,” he added.
Also Read: What Hamas said on Trump's Gaza peace plan
The point plan states that upon agreement on both sides, "the war will immediately end" with Israeli withdrawals and the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
What Netanyahu said?
Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke after Trump, laid out the Israeli plan after the end of war.
“All our hostages, those who are alive and those who dead, all of them would return home immediately, Hamas will disarmed, Gaza will be demilitarized, Israel will retain the security responsibility, including the security parameter for the foreseable future. Gaza will have a peaceful civilian administration, that is run neither by Hamas, nor by Palestinian authorities,” Netanyahu said.
Hamas says not received written Gaza peace plan
Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said that the group has not yet received Trump's written Gaza peace plan.
The Hamas official gave the remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher TV shortly after Trump's press conference with Netanyahu.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad group chief, Ziad al-Nakhala, said that that the US announcement on Gaza is a "recipe to blow up the region".
