WEB DESK: US President Donald Trump, in a social media post said Israel must stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his peace plan to end the nearly two-year war.
Hamas, in its partial agreement to the plan, had said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians.
Taking to his social media page, Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are 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 details to be worked out,” the US president wrote.
“This is a big day,” the US president said. “We’ll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his response, said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the “first stage” of Trump’s plan, apparently referring to the release of hostages.
But his office later said in a statement that Israel was committed to ending the war based on principles it had set out before, without addressing potential gaps with Hamas.
