By ADAM GELLER, SAM MEDNICK and AAMER MADHANI, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Monday they’ve agreed on a plan to finish the warfare in Gaza, however it’s unclear whether or not Hamas will settle for the phrases.
Trump on Monday laid out a 20-point plan for ending the Israel-Hamas warfare and establishing a postwar governance within the war-battered Palestinian territory. Trump’s plan would set up a brief governing board that will be headed by Trump and embody former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The plan doesn’t require individuals to go away Gaza and requires the warfare to finish instantly if each side settle for it. It additionally requires all remaining hostages to be launched by Hamas inside 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan.
Trump stated Israel would have the “full backing” of the US to take steps to defeat Hamas if the group doesn’t settle for the proposed peace deal.
“If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself,” Netanyahu stated. “This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done”
The president went on to induce Palestinian individuals to take duty “for their destiny” and embrace his peace proposal.
Whereas Hamas has stated previously that it will conform to step again from governing Gaza, the militant group has refused to disarm, one thing Netanyahu has lengthy demanded as a part of any long-term truce to finish the warfare.
Netanyahu earlier on Monday prolonged a proper apology to his Qatari counterpart for a latest army strike focusing on Hamas officers within the Gulf emirate that infuriated Arab leaders and triggered uncommon criticism by the U.S. of Israel.
Netanyahu made the decision to Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, as he met with Trump.
Trump described the alternate between the Israeli and Qatari chief as a “heart-to-heart” name.
“As a first step, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” the White Home stated in a press release. “He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”
The White Home talks, and apology from Netanyahu, come at a tenuous second. Israel is more and more remoted, dropping help from many international locations that had been lengthy its steadfast allies. At house, Netanyahu’s governing coalition seems extra fragile than ever. And the White Home is displaying indicators of impatience.
It stays to be seen how Netanyahu will be capable to justify to far-right members of his coalition his acceptance of the proposal after promising to press in opposition to the militant group till it was “eliminated.”
The Trump plan signifies that when all hostages are returned, Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty.” The plan provides that members of Hamas who want to go away Gaza could be offered protected passage to receiving international locations.
Netanyahu’s apology for strike that angered US ally
Netanyahu additionally used the go to to fix fences with a key U.S. ally within the Center East.
Israel caught the headquarters of Hamas’ political management in Qatar on Sept. 9 because the group’s high figures gathered to think about a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire within the Gaza Strip.
The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally was a shocking escalation and risked upending talks geared toward winding down the warfare and releasing hostages. No senior Hamas officers had been killed within the strike.
The assault on an energy-rich Gulf nation internet hosting hundreds of American troops, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas all through the warfare and even earlier than, was described by Trump as out of step with Israeli and U.S. pursuits. And Trump sought to maneuver shortly to assuage his Qatari allies.
Qatar, in the meantime, condemned the strike as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” as smoke rose over its capital, Doha. Different key U.S. allies within the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, promised their help to Qatar.
The White Home stated al Thani welcomed Netanyahu’s “assurances” and emphasised “Qatar’s readiness to continue contributing meaningfully to regional security and stability.”
However even because the White Home was spotlighting the apology, Israel’s far proper nationwide safety minister newly defended the choice to hold out Israel’s assault.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a key coalition companion of Netanyahu’s, in a posting on X referred to as the operation “an important, just and ethical attack.”
“It is very good that it happened,” he added.
Trump has been rising extra annoyed with battle
Trump joined forces with Netanyahu throughout Israel’s transient warfare with Iran in June, ordering U.S. stealth bombers to strike three nuclear websites, and he’s supported the Israeli chief throughout his corruption trial, describing the case as a “witch hunt.”
However the relationship has grow to be extra tense currently. Trump was annoyed by Israel’s failed strike this month on Hamas officers in Qatar.
Final week, Trump vowed to stop Israel from annexing the West Financial institution — an concept promoted by a few of Netanyahu’s hard-line governing companions. The worldwide neighborhood opposes annexation, saying it will destroy hopes for a two-state resolution.
On Friday, Trump raised expectations for the assembly with Netanyahu, telling reporters the U.S. was “very close to a deal on Gaza.”
Proposal doesn’t embody expulsion of Palestinians
Trump’s proposal to cease the warfare in Gaza requires a right away ceasefire, the discharge of all hostages inside 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, in line with three Arab officers briefed on the plan. They spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of the plan has not been formally unveiled.
Hamas is believed to be holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive. The militant group has demanded Israel agree to finish the warfare and withdraw from all of Gaza as a part of any everlasting ceasefire.
Trump mentioned the plan with Arab and Islamic leaders in New York final week on the sidelines of the U.N. Basic Meeting. It doesn’t embody the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which Trump appeared to endorse earlier this yr.
The 21-point proposal additionally requires an finish to Hamas rule of Gaza and the disarmament of the militant group, stated the officers briefed on the plan. A whole bunch of Palestinians, together with many serving life sentences, will likely be launched by Israel, in line with the proposal.
The plan additionally consists of the institution of a global safety pressure to take over regulation enforcement in postwar Gaza, they stated.
A Palestinian committee of technocrats would oversee the civilian affairs of the strip, with energy handed over later to a reformed Palestinian Authority, they stated.
Geller reported from New York, and Mednick reported from Jerusalem. Related Press writers Sam Magdy in Cairo; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Joseph Krauss in Ottawa, Ontario; and Seung Min Kim, Mathew Lee, Chris Megerian and Tia Goldenberg in Washington; and Farnoush Amiri on the United Nations contributed to this report.
Initially Revealed: September 29, 2025 at 8:11 AM EDT
