TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Israeli government on Friday night responded to Hamas' temporary approval of the Gaza peace proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, as reported by The New York Post, stated that it is "preparing for the immediate implementation of the first phase" involving the release of hostages.
Although it does not include a commitment to cease military actions in Gaza, as demanded by the U.S. president in a statement on Friday, Netanyahu's office released a statement to the Israeli media promising to cooperate with Trump.
"In light of the Hamas response [to the Trump peace plan], Israel is making preparations for the immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan which is the immediate release of all of the hostages," the statement read.
"We will continue to fully cooperate with the president and his team in order to end the war in accordance with the principles that Israel laid out and which are in line with President Trump’s vision."
Meanwhile, there are signs that Trump's acceptance of Hamas' response to his peace plan has had an impact on the ground.
According to the Israeli Army Radio, the government has instructed military commanders to halt their invasion plans of Gaza City.
The report indicates that Israeli civilian leadership has instructed army generals to minimize their activities in Gaza and limit their operations to purely defensive actions.
The practical implication is that the Israeli army's plan to occupy Gaza City and expel its residents has effectively been blocked for the time being, according to the Army Radio.
Earlier on Friday, reports from Israel indicated that Netanyahu was surprised by Trump's statement welcoming Hamas' tentative agreement to release the hostages, pending further negotiations regarding a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Although Trump praised what he called Hamas' "acceptance" of his Gaza peace plan on Friday, Netanyahu sought to undermine this by telling his confidants that he viewed the Palestinian group's statement as a rejection of the president's proposal, according to Axios.
Although Hamas stated its willingness to release Israeli hostages, both alive and deceased, as demanded by Trump, the Palestinian group did not address disarming or surrendering control of Gaza to international forces.
Hamas also rejected Trump's demands in the 20-point peace plan that required the group to release Israeli hostages within 72 hours.
In a televised speech as reported by Al Jazeera, President Trump praised this development as "an event like never before" and said that it is "a very special day."
"Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!" he said on his Truth Social platform, as reported.
"Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East."
Earlier, Hamas issued its official response to Trump's plan, which approved the release of all Israeli captives, the return of deceased bodies, and the handover of Gaza governance to an independent Palestinian technocratic body.
Israel estimates that 48 Israeli captives are in Gaza, including 20 who are still alive. Meanwhile, around 11,100 Palestinian detainees are held in its prisons, suffering from torture, hunger, and medical neglect, resulting in many casualties, according to reports from Palestinian and Israeli media and human rights organizations.
In a statement on Telegram, the Palestinian group said that "other issues raised in President Trump’s proposal concerning the future of the Gaza Strip and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are tied to a unified national position based on relevant international laws and resolutions."
A Palestinian source told Anadolu that Hamas officially conveyed its response to Trump's plan to the mediators and requested clarification on some clauses.
The plan requires an end to hostilities, the disarmament of all armed groups in Gaza, and Israel's gradual withdrawal from the war-torn coastal enclave. The area will then be governed by technocratic authorities under the supervision of an international body led by the U.S. president.
For nearly 18 years, Israel has maintained a naval blockade on Gaza, which is home to nearly 2.4 million people. Israel tightened the blockade on March 2 when it closed border crossings and banned the entry of food and medicine, plunging the enclave into famine.
Since October 2023, Israeli airstrikes have killed nearly 66,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The UN and human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the enclave is becoming increasingly uninhabitable, with hunger and diseases spreading rapidly amid widespread displacement.
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