CNN
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President Donald Trump raised expectations about the possibility of a 60-day ceasefire in the war in Gaza after saying that a response from Hamas is expected on Thursday.
When asked by a reporter if Hamas agreed to the latest ceasefire and hostage contract, Trump replied, “We’ll see what happens and we’ll know in the next 24 hours.” Qatar submitted an updated proposal to Israel and Hamas earlier this week, which Israel accepted on Tuesday.
Hamas says it will announce its decision without specifying how long this will take after consultations with other Palestinians.
Trump said Tuesday that Israel “accepted the necessary conditions” to complete a deal to halt 60 days of hostilities. In a post about the True Society, Trump warned Hamas to accept the proposal as well.
“I hope Hamas will make this deal for the benefit of the Middle East, because it won’t get better. It’ll only get worse,” he said.
The latest proposals are not markedly different from previous plans proposed by the negotiators. This maintains the same number of hostages released and the length of previous temporary ceasefires. However, the proposal provides two important concessions to Hamas’ demands, spacing hostage releases throughout the timeline, providing strong assurances directly from Trump in this case.
The plan spreads the release of 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages across the full timeline, according to sources familiar with negotiations who shared details of the plan.
On the first day of the ceasefire, Hamas released eight living hostages. In exchange, Israel released an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and withdraws its forces from ready-made locations in northern Gaza. Israel withdrew from parts of South Gaza on the seventh day, following the release of many dead hostages.
Israel and Hamas also negotiated for a permanent ceasefire soon after the first ceasefire was implemented. A total of 50 hostages remain in Gaza, of which at least 20 are believed to be alive.
The last two living hostages will be released on the 50th of the ceasefire. Meanwhile, the five hostages who have passed away will be released on the 7th and 30th, with the final day being released on the last day.
Under this contract, hostages will be released without a ceremony or fanfare, in response to Israel’s request. This is different from when Hamas staged a public promotion event on the relocation of hostages that sparked rage in Israel.
Humanitarian aid will soon begin flowing into Gaza at the start of a ceasefire that includes the United Nations and other aid organizations, similar to the previous ceasefire that began on January 19th.
On Thursday, Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander met with Trump in Washington and told the president that the fight in Gaza continued to put the rest of the hostages in danger. A statement from the Hostage and Missing Family Forum after the meeting cited Alexander telling Trump:
