US President Donald Trump on Saturday called on Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza”, shortly after Hamas accepted parts of his Gaza peace plan, including to free all hostages. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he believes Hamas is ready for a “lasting peace”.
“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on the details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump said.
He also posted a video message thanking all the countries that helped broker the ‘peace’ in the Middle East.
“I want to thank the countries for helping me put this together – Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and so many others. So many people fought so hard. This is a big day. We’ll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down and concrete. Very importantly, I look forward to having the hostages come home to their parents. Some of the hostages – unfortunately, you know the condition they’re in – come home likewise to their parents because their parents wanted them just as much as though that young man or young woman were alive,” he said.
The Republican leader, calling it a “very special day”, said, “It is unprecedented. But thank you all and the countries that helped. We were given a tremendous amount of help. Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East. We are very close to achieving that. Thank you all, and everybody will be treated fairly.”
President Donald J. Trump shares a powerful message in response to Hamas’ statement regarding his peace plan:
“Very importantly, I look forward to having the hostages come home.” pic.twitter.com/RZArVNcXc9
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 3, 2025
Trump, who has invested significantly in efforts to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and left the US-ally Israel increasingly isolated on the world stage, had earlier issued an ultimatum to Hamas to accept his 20-point Gaza peace plan by Sunday, 6 pm (US time) or face “all hell”. Hours later, Hamas accepted certain parts of the plan, including ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives, aid and recovery efforts, and opposition to Palestinian expulsion from the territory.
However, there were apparent differences in Hamas’ statement and Trump’s plan on the future of Gaza’s governance and Hamas’ own involvement in the territory’s future – for which the Palestinian group sought further talks.
Israel’s Response
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office, reacting to Hamas’ response to the Gaza peace plan, said they are “preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages”.
“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which align with President Trump’s vision,” the statement read.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that while they are implementing the plan to release all hostages, the “security” of their forces is the “utmost priority”. “All IDF capabilities will be allocated to the Southern Command for the protection of our forces. The Chief of the General Staff noted that in light of the operational sensitivity, all forces must exercise great vigilance and alertness. Additionally, he emphasized the need for a rapid response to remove any threat,” it said.
“The Chief of the General Staff convened a special situation assessment during the night in light of the developments. The situation assessment was attended by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, the Head of the Operations Directorate, the Head of the Intelligence Directorate, the Head of the Planning Directorate, the Commander of the Home Front Command, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Commander of the Southern Command, and the Commander of the Air Force. In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, the Chief of the General Staff instructed to advance readiness for implementing the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages,” the IDF wrote in a post on X.
The Gaza war
Israel began its offensive in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage back to Gaza. Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 66,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. Its assault has destroyed much of the strip, while aid restrictions have triggered a famine in parts of Gaza.