Arab and Muslim nations welcome Hamas's response to Trump's plan

Dubai: Arab and Muslim nations on Sunday welcomed Hamas's response to the peace proposal put forward by former US President Donald Trump, which included the group’s willingness to release hostages.

A joint statement from the foreign ministers of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan came after Hamas showed a positive response to Trump's proposal aimed at ending the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The statement highlighted that the foreign ministers “welcomed the steps taken by Hamas regarding…Trump’s proposal to end the war on Gaza, release all hostages, whether alive or deceased, and the immediate launch of negotiations on the implementation mechanism.”

Trump’s plan stipulates that all hostages will be returned by Hamas “within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement.”

The proposal also includes Israel’s commitment to freeing 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, along with 1,700 Gazans detained since October 7, 2023, including all women and children. Additionally, for every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel would return the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.

The foreign ministers further welcomed Trump’s call for Israel to “immediately” halt the bombing of Gaza and expressed “appreciation for his commitment to establishing peace in the region.”

Diplomatic moves

Negotiators, meanwhile, were converging on Cairo ahead of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war in Gaza, with Israel's leader expressing hope that the hostages still being held there would be released in a matter of days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he had ordered negotiators to Egypt "to finalise the technical details", while Cairo confirmed it would also be hosting a delegation from Hamas for talks on "the ground conditions and details of the exchange of all Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners".

Egyptian state-linked media had previously reported that the warring parties would hold indirect talks on Sunday and Monday.