Hamas Agrees to Release Israeli Hostages (Trump Calls for Ceasefire)

This morning president Trump announced that Hamas only had until early Monday morning local time to agree to the peace plan he had set forth, otherwise they could expect “all hell” to break out.

Tonight, the group released a statement saying they had agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages which is one point of the 20 points in the Trump plan. However, they were vague about their willingness to accept they key points of the plan.

The group “affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss the details of this agreement,” it said in a statement on Friday.

“The movement also renews its agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats), based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support,” Hamas said.

President Trump posted an English-language copy of the response on Truth Social.

But here’s the catch:

“The other issues mentioned in President Trump’s proposal regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people are linked to a comprehensive national position and based on relevant international laws and resolutions,” the group said. “They are to be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework. Hamas will be part of it and will contribute to it with full responsibility.”

Hamas “will be part of” future plans for Gaza. Compare that with the relevant text of Trump’s plan:

6. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries…

13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.

So, Hamas has not agreed to Trump’s plan, at least not to the key parts that it has always opposed. And I think there’s another reason they are leading with the offer on releasing the hostages. This has been a political fault line within Israel in recent months. In May there were protests in the streets of Tel Aviv with thousands of Israelis demanding Netanyahu prioritize getting the hostages back over destroying Hamas. Like all hostage takers, Hamas would still like to see that internal debate divide their enemies in a way that allows them to survive.

President Trump is preparing a response:

Behind the Scenes in the Oval Office: President Trump responds to Hamas’ acceptance of his Peace Plan.

Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/iw1fXIWyls

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) October 3, 2025

And while we wait for that video response, Trump has posted this reaction. He’s calling on Israel to cease fire and get the hostages out.

pic.twitter.com/3dGpkSu0kW

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) October 3, 2025

Given that Hamas has not agreed to disarm, will Israel agree to a ceasefire?

I guess once the hostages are out, Israel could resume attacks since Hamas has not agreed to the deal as presented (and therefore Israel isn’t bound by the deal either). My guess is that Hamas will agree to negotiations and then stall and make more demands which is the game they’ve been playing for months. In this case, after agreeing to release the hostages, we’ll suddenly find out this is dependent on a full withdrawal from Gaza by Israel with no guarantee of disarmament by Hamas.

Hamas is under a lot of international pressure to accept this deal right now. I hope we aren’t squandering that for false promises Hamas has no intention of keeping. In other words, I hope President Trump has a plan to outsmart these bastards, because at the moment it looks like he’s giving them time to play games with no guarantees.

Still waiting for a video response from President Trump.

Update: Sen. Fetterman supports an immediate release.

Hamas must choose peace or its own destruction.

Send the hostages home, now.

As an unapologetic supporter of Israel, the Gaza War must end to have peace and security for Israel and Palestinians.

Politics aside, credit to @POTUS’ peace plan to get to this encouraging point. pic.twitter.com/PCTaNEJeXO

— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) October 3, 2025

Update: Netanyahu sees the Hamas response as a rejection of the Trump plan. He is surprised by President Trump’s positive reaction.

🚨An Israeli official said Netanyahu was surprised by President Trump’s response
🚨In consultations Netanyahu held on Friday – after Hamas’ response and before Trump’s announcement – he stressed that he views Hamas’ response as a rejection of Trump’s plan, the Israeli official… https://t.co/OdTNY9ITVs

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 3, 2025

Hamas’ reaction was a rejection of the key parts of the Trump plan. Netanyahu is right about that. Fingers crossed he’s a step ahead of the game Hamas is playing.

Trump isn’t dumb. He knows precisely what Hamas is trying to pull—but he’s calling their bluff.

He’s forcing them to release all the hostages now. Once that happens, if they refuse to disarm, Israel will finish the job. It

For today, the mission is simple: Bring. Them. Home.

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) October 3, 2025

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