CAIRO / WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called on Israel to immediately halt its bombing campaign in Gaza after Hamas announced its readiness to release hostages and accept key terms of a U.S.-brokered plan aimed at ending the two-year-long war.

In a statement on his social media platform, Truth Social, President Trump said he believed Hamas had shown it was “ready for a lasting peace” and urged Israel to cooperate.

“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly,” Trump wrote, adding that discussions were already underway on the next steps. “This is not about Gaza alone — this is about long-sought peace in the Middle East.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in response that Israel was preparing for the “immediate implementation” of the first phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, which focuses on the release of Israeli hostages following Hamas’s formal reply to Washington.

Shortly after the announcement, Israeli media reported that the country’s political leadership had instructed the military to scale down offensive operations in Gaza. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff later said forces had been told to prepare for implementation of the U.S. plan’s initial stage, without specifying whether air and ground strikes would be paused.

Residents of Gaza City reported continued bombardment in the hours following Trump’s remarks. Witnesses said Israeli warplanes targeted several residential areas, including Talateeni Street and the Remal neighbourhood, while tanks shelled parts of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Pressure mounts on Netanyahu

The U.S. president’s latest intervention comes amid growing international and domestic pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war. Families of Israeli hostages have repeatedly urged the government to enter negotiations for their release, while members of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition insist the military campaign must continue until Hamas is dismantled.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks in which, according to Israeli figures, about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

The Israeli campaign has since killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza’s health authorities. The bombardment has destroyed much of the enclave, and aid restrictions have pushed several areas to the brink of famine.

A United Nations Commission of Inquiry and multiple human rights experts have concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide — a charge the Netanyahu government denies, maintaining that it is acting in self-defence.

Hamas response and remaining disputes

In its written response to Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Hamas expressed appreciation for international efforts to end the conflict and confirmed its willingness to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as proposed by Washington.

The group said it was ready “to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents based on national consensus and backed by Arab and Islamic states,” signalling a potential shift toward a technocratic transitional authority.

However, Hamas did not explicitly agree to key provisions of Trump’s proposal, including the disarmament of its fighters and a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza — conditions both the U.S. and Israel consider essential. A senior Hamas official told Al Jazeera the group “will not disarm before the end of the occupation,” underscoring lingering divisions.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said it had begun coordination with Egypt and the United States to facilitate further talks on Trump’s plan, which envisions an immediate ceasefire, a full exchange of hostages and prisoners, a gradual Israeli withdrawal, and the formation of an international transitional government to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction.

Earlier on Friday, Trump warned that “all HELL” would break out in Gaza if Hamas failed to accept the proposal by Sunday evening.

Despite the uncertainty, analysts say the Hamas response represents the most significant step toward de-escalation in months. For Trump, whose administration has placed the Gaza war at the centre of its Middle East agenda, the development marks a potential diplomatic breakthrough — if both sides can now translate words into a sustained ceasefire.