Trump-Gaza latest: Trump says Hamas ‘ready for lasting peace’ after accepting parts of peace deal

Emmanuel Macron has tweeted his reaction to Hamas’s statement about the peace plan:

This morning in Australia, prime minister Anthony Albanese has released a statement saying his country “welcomes progress on President Trump’s plan to bring peace to Gaza”.

His comment came after Hamas said it was willing to implement the first stage of the plan to release Israeli hostages, but that it wanted negotiations on other aspects of the agreement.

Mr Albanese said Australia “have consistently been part of international calls for a ceasefire, the return of hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian aid to reach those in need”.

“I reiterate our call on Hamas to agree to the plan, lay down its arms and release all remaining hostages without delay,” he said.

“Together with our partners, Australia will continue to support efforts to end the war and work towards a just and sustainable two-state solution.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the “first stage” of Trump’s plan, referring to the release of hostages.

But his office said in a statement that Israel was committed to ending the war based on principles it has set out before without addressing potential gaps with Hamas.

“In light of Hamas’s response, Israel is preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of President Trump’s plan for the prompt release of all the hostages,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to bring the war to an end in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which are aligned with President Trump’s vision.”

Hamas’ acceptance of Donald Trump’s peace deal came hours after the US president gave them until Sunday to agree to his plan.

He posted an ultimatum giving them until 6pm on Sunday to accept the deal and vowed “all hell” would break out had an accord not been reached by then.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” he said, adding later that there would be “PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”

He also threatened Hamas several times in his Truth Social post, claiming that its members are “surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO’, for their lives to be quickly extinguished” by Israeli forces while vowing that Hamas militants “will be hunted down and killed” and urging Palestinian civilians to evacuate “this area of potentially great future death” in Gaza City “for safer parts of Gaza.”

The Hostages Families Forum have called on the Israeli prime minister to begin “swift” negotiations, after Hamas agreed to release all remaining hostages as part of Trump’s peace agreement.

In a statement, the group said it stands firmly with President Trump “in his commitment to bring home all the hostages and end the war”.

They added: “President Trump’s demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages.

“We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home.”

Donald Trump has released a statement after Hamas accepted part of his peace plan.

In a clip filmed in the White House president Trump said it was a “big day” and said he was “looking forward to having the hostages come home to their parents”.

He added: “This is a very special day. Maybe unprecedented. In many ways it is unprecedented. Thank you all and thank you to all those great countries that helped.

“We were given a tremendous amount of help and everyone was unified, wanting this war to end and wanting peace in the Middle East.”

Egypt has said it hopes “positive development” will lead all parties to implement Donald Trump’s peace plan, according to a foreign ministry statement.

It said it will exert all effort with Arab states, the US, and European countries to reach a permanent ceasefire in the war-torn enclave.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he is encouraged by Hamas’ statement this evening.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday: “He urges all parties to seize the opportunity to bring the tragic conflict in Gaza to an end.”