Hamas consenting to release the remaining hostages, albeit subject to talks and specific terms being met, will give genuine optimism to the relatives in Israel who have been eagerly waiting for this kind of development for a very long time
In its statement addressing the American ceasefire initiative, the organization expressed willingness to "release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, in line with the swap formula outlined in President Donald Trump's plan, provided the field circumstances for the exchange are met"
That framework, detailed by President Trump at the US capital in recent days, envisions an immediate cessation to the fighting and the handover within three days of all living Israel's hostages detained by Hamas – as well as the remains of individuals believed to be dead – in exchange for hundreds of imprisoned Palestinians
There are believed to be forty-eight hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory by the armed group, only 20 of whom are thought to be surviving
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The endorsement by the faction of another key part of the American ceasefire proposal, the idea of handing over the governance of the Gaza Strip to local technocrats, is also clearly significant
But there are numerous of additional aspects of the comprehensive, 20-point plan that are conspicuous by their omission
The most notable of those is the requirement that Hamas lay down its arms
"It marks a big development", the President says of the group's response to peace deal
The Israeli government will now be poring over the language of the announcement to glean the true intent
It will need to decide whether it sees this as a genuine trustworthy approval of several of the key points of the deal, or simply an attempt to buy time and resume long drawn out negotiations
Given that it came just a short time after President Donald Trump issued his last ultimatum for the faction to comply by the weekend deadline or confront "serious consequences", several officials of the Israeli premier's cabinet are likely to be deeply sceptical
That is particularly the case now the US president has called on Israel to immediately halt the airstrikes of the territory
"In light of the Communication just issued by Hamas, I am convinced they are ready for a enduring CEASEFIRE", Trump stated shortly after the Hamas statement was published
"The Israeli government must promptly cease the bombing of the region, so that we can get the Hostages out without harm and quickly", he added. "Right now, it's extremely dangerous to do that"
The Israelis will be displeased by the final paragraph of his statement suggesting that Hamas would retain a participation in talks over the future governance of Gaza
The Hamas statement is important, undoubtedly. In a video message released later on Friday, the President declared it was a "major step" and thanked a number of nations which he said had helped him develop the initiative forward
But there is still a substantial deal of specifics to be resolved before a truce in the region becomes anything like a reality. And the US leader appeared to acknowledge this was not a done deal
"It remains to be seen how it all unfolds", he commented. "It is necessary to get the definitive terms in place and concrete"
