Hamas ‘will give ceasefire response in 24 hours’: Trump

Donald Trump says he expects an response on Friday, as the militant group says it’s still discussing the details of the agreement with other Palestinian factions.

Relatives and supporters of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip protest outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. Picture: AP.

Donald Trump has said he expects Hamas to respond to a proposed 60 day ceasefire with Israel within 24 hours, as the militant group said it was still discussing the details of the agreement with other Palestinian factions.

Israel’s security cabinet convened earlier on Friday (AEST) to discuss reports in Arab media that Hamas had “given a positive response” o the ceasefire.

The Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa TV channel reported that Hamas would give its official response within hours but in a later statement, the militant group said: “We will announce a final decision to the (Qatari) mediators after consulting with the Palestinian factions.”

Amid increased speculation Hamas was set to endorse the truce, Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to announce a deal “soon” and Donald Trump told reporters he wanted Gazans “to be safe.”

Speaking on his way to a rally in Iowa, Mr Trump dodged a reporter’s question about whether he still plans for the US to take over the Strip.

“I want the people of Gaza to be safe,” he said. “They’ve been through hell.”

According to the Saudi news outlet Ashaq al-Awsat, Hamas is finalising some last details in the agreement, “and they are similar to those that preceded the announcement of the previous agreement last January.”

A source from the militant group told the news site: “All our (Hamas) inputs are positive, and we will be closer to a new agreement. All the movements indicate that we have entered the pre-announcement phase.”

Asked about the ceasefire, which Donald Trump said on Wednesday Israel had agreed, the Israeli Prime Minister told reporters: “From our perspective there is an agreement, we hope to announce it soon.”

A diplomat briefed on the talks told The Associated Press: “The indications we’re getting are people are ready,” adding that there was now a “big opportunity” to reach an agreement.

The proposal calls for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 dead captives during a 60-day ceasefire – eight on day one, with another two on day 50 with captives handed straight over to Israel without having to be put through gruesome release ceremonies. The dead hostages would be released in three groups between the living prisoners, Israeli media reports.

That would leave 22 hostages still in Gaza, 10 of whom are still thought to be alive.

During that period, the sides are expected to hold talks aimed at ending the war.

Arab and Israeli media report that under the agreement, the Israeli military would withdraw from northern Gaza on the first day of the truce, and from southern Gaza on the seventh day.

It also commits to continued peace talks at the end of the ceasefire if an agreement hasn’t yet been reached.

Despite expectations that Hamas would agree to the truce, Mr Netanyahu on Friday again vowed to bring home all the hostages still held in Gaza, and an end to the militant group.

“I feel a deep commitment, first and foremost, to ensure the return of all our abductees, all of them,” Mr Netanyahu told inhabitants of the Nir Oz kibbutz, the community that saw the most hostages seized in the 2023 Hamas attacks that sparked the war.

“We will bring them all back,” he added, in comments released by his office.

Israel’s right wing leaders are adamant they will eliminate Hamas, with hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir saying: “Let’s finish the job in Gaza.” Israel was now “in a position to achieve” victory over Hamas, he added.

Hostages Bar Kuperstein (L and Maxim Herkin (R) are seen in a Hamas propaganda video released by the terror group in April, and cleared for publication by their families on July 3, 2025.

Meanwhile the families of hostages Maxim Herkin and Bar Kuperstein allowed a snippet from a Hamas propaganda clip released by the terror group in April to be included in a video pleading for a deal to free the remaining prisoners.

The video published by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum called for a comprehensive peace deal rather than the staggered releases suggested in the latest proposal.

In the video, which includes previous footage of Hamas hostages, Mr Herkin, whose hand is bandaged, says he and Mr Kuperstein are “dead men walking.”

In the footage, Herkin and Kuperstein sit together with their backs against the wall.

Herkin, whose hand is bandaged, says that the two are “dead men walking.”

“We don’t feel like human beings,” he says.

In a second, shorter clip, Mr Kuperstein appears alone. He says only: “Please!” in what appears to be an appeal for his release.

The video of the two was the first sign of life for either hostage since their abduction on October 7, 2023, from the Nova festival near Kibbutz Re’im.

Israel has recently expanded its military operations in the Gaza Strip, where its war on Hamas militants has created dire humanitarian conditions and displaced nearly all of the territory’s population of more than two million.

With AFP