The Japan Times - Hamas says ready for peace talks, Trump urges Israel to halt bombing

Trump's peace proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a halt to hostilities in the nearly two-year conflict, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament -- a point the Islamist group did not mention in its response.

The plan also insists that Hamas and other factions "not have any role in the governance of Gaza", with administration of the territory instead taken up by a technocratic body overseen by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

"President Trump's statements on the immediate cessation of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip are encouraging," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nounou told AFP.

"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.

Trump had hailed an earlier statement from Hamas that it was committed to a "lasting peace", in response to the US leader giving the group until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan or else face "all hell".

In that statement, Hamas also agreed to hand over power in Gaza to a body of Palestinian technocrats -- another element of the Trump proposal -- but said it would "participate and contribute responsibly" in Palestinian discussions regarding the territory's future.

The development drew a chorus of hopeful reactions.

Key mediators Qatar and Egypt both welcomed Hamas's statements, saying they hoped it would help towards ensuring an end to the conflict.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "urges all parties to seize the opportunity", his spokesman said, while European leaders Emmanuel Macron of France and Friedrich Merz of Germany both hailed it as a major step towards peace.

- Heavy bombardment -

On the ground on Friday, Gaza's civil defence agency -- a rescue force operating under Hamas authority -- reported heavy air bombardment and artillery shelling on Gaza City.

It said Israeli strikes killed at least 11 people across the territory, including eight in Gaza City, but there was no response from the Israeli military when contacted by AFP.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP cannot independently verify details or casualty figures provided by the Israeli military or the civil defence.

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

The UN on Friday reiterated there was no safe place in Gaza and that Israel-designated zones in the south were "places of death", while Amnesty International condemned a "catastrophic wave of mass displacement" as Israel intensified its Gaza City offensive.

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

On Friday, the organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said its last remaining boat had been intercepted, and Israel's foreign ministry said it had deported four Italian participants.

- 'Two opinions' in Hamas -

As Hamas mulled Trump's peace plan this week, a Palestinian source close to the group's leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement wanted to amend some clauses, including the one on disarmament.

Hamas leaders also want "international guarantees" for a full Israeli withdrawal and that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside Gaza, the source added.

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP the group was split over Trump's plan, with some arguing for "unconditional approval" and others voicing "serious reservations".

Structurally, the group's leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.

Much of Hamas's leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.

The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

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K.Yamaguchi--JT