Hamas agreed to the proposed ceasefire deal, but asked for more negotiations.
Hamas responded Friday to President Donald Trump’s proposal for peace in Gaza, as the president gave a deadline of 6 p.m. ET Sunday to sign on to the plan he unveiled earlier this week.
Hamas said it will release all remaining hostages if Israel withdraws from Gaza and “proper field conditions are met.” More negotiations will need to take place to finalize the deal, which Trump unveiled Monday while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Any agreement could mean an end to the Israel Defense Forces’ operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban area in the Gaza Strip.
Multiple Western nations recognized Palestinian statehood in recent weeks while also demanding that Hamas not be part of any future government.
Netanyahu said that Israel will not allow an independent Palestinian state to exist.
Key Headlines
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Oct 04, 2025, 6:32 PM EDT
Netanyahu strikes victorious tone, says Israel ‘on the verge of a great achievement’
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Oct 04, 2025, 12:25 PM EDT
Trump tells Hamas ‘move quickly, or else all bets will be off’
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Oct 04, 2025, 7:23 AM EDT
IDF offensive pause to allow Hamas to organize hostage release, official says
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Oct 04, 2025, 3:56 AM EDT
Netanyahu orders halt to all offensive operations in Gaza, sources say
Here’s how the news is developing.
13 minutes ago
IDF will increase ‘intensity of fire’ until Hamas releases hostages, Katz says
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces will “increase the intensity of the fire” if Hamas refuses to release all remaining hostages, as heavy strikes continued in Gaza City despite a proposed ceasefire deal.
Speaking at an IDF ceremony on Sunday, Katz said Israelis may hear news of the return of all hostages “soon.”
Katz said the IDF is still operating “in the heart of Gaza City.” The defense minister suggested that Hamas’ apparent receptiveness to U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace proposal is due to “the intensity of the pressure that Israel is exerting on Gaza City.”
“If Hamas refuses to release the hostages, the IDF will once again increase the intensity of the fire until Hamas is convinced and all the hostages are released,” Katz said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Somayeh Malekian
36 minutes ago
Key Arab and Muslim states welcome Hamas response to Trump plan
The foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey released a new statement praising Hamas’ response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the war on Gaza.
The ministers “welcomed the steps taken by Hamas” regarding Trump’s proposal, “to end the war on Gaza, release all hostages, alive or deceased, and the immediate launch of negotiations on implementation mechanisms,” according to the text of the statement published by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.
The foreign ministers also welcomed Hamas’ “readiness to hand over the administration of Gaza to a transitional Palestinian Administrative Committee of independent technocrats.”
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Someyah Malekian
2 hours and 15 minutes ago
Intense Israeli strikes in Gaza City continue
Intense Israel Defense Forces strikes on Gaza City continued overnight, despite initial expectations among Palestinian residents of a decrease in military activity following the latest developments from U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal.
One of the IDF’s targets during the overnight attacks was Al-Azhar University, located in the Al-Mughraqa area in southern Gaza City. The university was “completely destroyed,” according to local journalists and eyewitnesses. ABC News has contacted the IDF for comment on the strike.
According to a statement from the Gaza Government Media Office on Saturday night, the IDF carried out 93 airstrikes within 24 hours, killing 70 Palestinians.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Somayeh Malekian
Oct 04, 2025, 6:32 PM EDT
Netanyahu strikes victorious tone, says Israel ‘on the verge of a great achievement’
In a televised statement Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a victorious tone, saying Israel is “on the verge of a very great achievement” and that he hopes “in the coming days” he can announce “the return of all our hostages, both living and dead, in one fell swoop, while the IDF remains deep in the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu said, “In the first phase, Hamas will release all of our hostages, and IDF forces will redeploy in such a way that the IDF will continue to hold all of the territories it controls deep inside the Strip.”
Netanyahu says “our intention and that of our American friends is to conclude these negotiations in a few days,” and that “very soon” there would be the liberation of all our hostages without a full withdrawal from the Strip.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
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