Introduction
A plan calling for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by President Donald J. Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has entered the most crucial phase of negotiations. After the Arab governments, Israel and European and Commonwealth leaders reviewed the Trump plan to end the war in Gaza, Hamas has begun a series of consultations within its political and military leaderships, both inside the Palestinian Territories and abroad. The intelligence services of Qatar, Egypt and Qatar met with Hamas representatives on September 30, 2025 and will meet with them in the coming days.
Trump said in his inimitable style, “If Hamas does not respond within 3-4 days from today, Israel will do what it needs to do.”
Although Trump gave Hamas 3-4 days, the process is likely to take several weeks. In addition to the patrons and partners of Hamas, it is also likely that the Trump plan will be reviewed by other threat groups in Gaza that formed the Palestinian Joint Operations Room.
Negotiations Resumed
After Israeli Air Force attacked the Hamas safe house in Doha, Qatar has returned back to the table. However, it was only after Prime Minister Netanyahu called the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to apologize for Operation Summit Of Fire, including both the violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, the damage caused to the capital Doha, and the death of a Qatari security official in the attacks. The call also included a commitment to refrain from any further attacks and respect Qatar’s sovereignty. The decision to make amends with Qatar was after President Trump intervened and asked Prime Minister Netanyahu to call Qatari Prime Minister when they met at the White House on September 29, 2025.
Trump and Netanyahu in conversation at the White House; Sept 29th 2025
After Trump spoke on the phone with the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, he handed the phone to Netanyahu. Israel Prime Minister’s Office reported: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call with the Prime Minister of Qatar said: “Mr. Prime Minister, I want you to know that Israel regrets that one of your citizens was killed in our strike. I want to assure you that Israel targeted Hamas, not Qataris. I also want to assure you that Israel has no plan to violate your sovereignty again in the future, and I have committed to the President. I know that your leadership has complaints against Israel and Israel has complaints against Qatar, ranging from support for the Muslim Brotherhood to the way Israel is portrayed on Al Jazeera to support for anti-Israel sentiments on college campuses. I welcome the President’s idea to establish a trilateral group to address the complaints of our two countries.” The trilateral group will consist of Qatar, Israel and the U.S.
Trump and Netanyahu in conversation at the White House; Sept 29th 2025
Statement released by the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs
When Trump and Netanyahu met at the White House on September 29, 2025, they issued separate statements and then addressed the media.
President Donald J. Trump’s statement
Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict
Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.
Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.
If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.
Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement.
Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.
A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.
A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Statement with President Donald Trump in the White House:
“Mr. President,
First, I want to thank you for graciously hosting me once again in the White House. And second, I want to thank you for your friendship and for your leadership.
From Jerusalem to Tehran, from the Golan Heights to Gaza, you’ve proven time and again what I’ve said many times. You are the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. And, Mr. President, you and I both know it’s not even close.
While you focus at home on making America great again, your leadership abroad is changing the world for the better, ending wars and advancing peace. I believe that today we’re taking a critical step towards both ending the war in Gaza and setting the stage for dramatically advancing peace in the Middle East, and I think beyond the Middle East, very important Muslim countries.
I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims. It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.
We would not have achieved this turning point without the courage and sacrifice of our incredibly brave soldiers. They fight like lions to defend the people of Israel, and they serve on the front line in the war between civilization and barbarism.
Mr. President, when our two countries stand shoulder to shoulder, we achieve the impossible.
Just a few months ago, in Operation Rising Lion and Operation Midnight Hammer, we struck a decisive blow against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program. Your bold decision to send those B2s made the region safer and the world safer.
Now, under your leadership, we’re taking the next step to win the war and expand the peace. Your plan is consistent with the five principles my government set for the end of the war and the day after Hamas.
Everybody asks, “What is your plan for the day after Hamas?”
Here’s our plan. Passed it in the cabinet.
All our hostages, both those who are alive and those who died, all of them will return home immediately.
Hamas will be disarmed.
Gaza will be demilitarized.
Israel will retain security responsibility, including a security perimeter for the foreseeable future.
And lastly, Gaza will have a peaceful civilian administration that is run neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian Authority.
If Hamas agrees to your plan, Mr. President, the first step will be a modest withdrawal, followed by the release of all our hostages within 72 hours.
The next step will be the establishment of an international body charged with fully disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza. I appreciate your willingness to lead the body, Mr. President. I really appreciate it because you have a lot of things to do and this is important. And it reflects the confidence that this will give everyone, that things will be followed up on all the commitments made. The fact that you’re taking this on, I think, helps a lot to make sure that everything flows in the direction that we want.
Now, if this international body succeeds, we will have permanently ended the war. Israel will conduct further withdrawals linked to the extent of disarmament and demilitarization, but will remain in the security perimeter for the foreseeable future.
I think we should understand that we’re giving everybody a chance to have this done peacefully. Something that will achieve all our war objectives without any further bloodshed.
But if Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself.
This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done. We prefer the easy way, but it has to be done. All these goals must be achieved, because we didn’t fight this horrible fight, sacrifice the finest of our young men to have Hamas stay in Gaza and threaten us again and again and again with these horrific massacres.
Mr. President, I was encouraged by your clear statement at the UN against the recognition of a Palestinian state. That would be an outcome that after October 7th would reward terrorists, undermine security, and endanger Israel’s very existence.
As for the Palestinian Authority, I appreciate your firm position that the PA could have no role whatsoever in Gaza without undergoing a radical and genuine transformation. In your 2020 peace plan, which you mentioned just now, you made clear what that transformation requires. It’s not lip service. It’s not checking a box. It’s a fundamental, genuine, and enduring transformation.
And that means ending “pay to slay,” changing the poisonous textbooks that teach hatred to Jews, to Palestinian children, stopping incitement in the media, ending lawfare against Israel at the ICC, the ICJ, recognizing the Jewish state, and many, many other reforms.
It won’t come as a surprise to you that the vast majority of Israelis have no faith that the PA leopard will change its spots. But rather than wait for this miraculous transformation, your plan provides a practical and realistic path forward for Gaza in the coming years, in which Gaza will be administered neither by Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, but by those committed to a genuine peace with Israel.
I think this can be not only a new beginning for Gaza, I think it can be a new beginning for the entire region.
Under your leadership, we can re-energize — I’ve got to contribute my own — we can re-energize the Avraham Accords. That’s what it’s called in the original Hebrew. Avraham. Abraham is fine, Ahbraham, however you want to call it.
Under your leadership, Mr. President, we can re-energize the Abraham Accords that we forged five years ago. We can expand them to many more Arab and Muslim nations that chose moderation over extremism.
I think there’s an opportunity here. It’s not going to be easy. It’s tough going. But I think if we succeed, you’re absolutely right. We’re going to open possibilities that nobody even dreamed of. But I think we dream of them. As you’ve told me, Mr. President, and you’ve told the world many, many times, you said, remember October 7th. Remember October 7th. And we do. We will never forget the horrors of October 7th. And we will do whatever is necessary to make sure they don’t happen again. Since October 7th, Israel’s enemies have learned a hard truth. Those who attack us pay a heavy price. But those who partner with us advance progress and security for their peoples.
President Trump just said it. It’s also in the Bible. It says, “Those who will bless you will be blessed, and those who will curse you will be cursed.” And that’s actually what is happening. We want the blessings. I think we’ve done a lot in the past two years to end the curse. We’re not finished, but we’ve done a lot. And we’ve done a lot together to end the curse.
I want to thank your entire team for their efforts to get to this point. I especially want to thank Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their indefatigable work to bring Israel and Arab states and the region closer together. I am deeply grateful to both of them for their work.
We had a phone call today just to make it clear. I said to the Prime Minister of Qatar, Israel was targeting terrorists. It wasn’t targeting Qatar. And of course, we regretted the loss of the Qatari citizen. It wasn’t our target.
And I very much appreciate President Trump’s proposal to have a trilateral body: the United States, Israel and Qatar, to work out respective grievances. There are quite a few. But if we could try to mitigate them or put it on a different footing, I think that would be good for everyone.
Above all, all the people, the fine team, and many helpers who have done this, I want to thank you, Mr. President.
History has already shown that under your leadership, Israel and America can change the face of the Middle East. And today I’m hopeful that your plan to end the war in Gaza will do so again and do so soon. It will free our hostages, end Hamas’ tyranny in Gaza and enable a more secure and prosperous future for the peoples of our region.
Thank you, Mr. President.
May God bless America, may God bless the indispensable alliance between our countries and I’ll add in Hebrew, גמר חתימה טובה, may we all be inscribed in the Book of Life.
Thank you”
At the White House press conference on September 29, 2025, President Trump explained the key points of his plan for Gaza. Although the Trump team had consulted with Qatar, the mediator, the Arab, Muslim and the western governments and Israel, they did not adequately engage and get a commitment from Hamas and the other threat groups. Arab and Muslim governments issued a joint statement.
Joint Statement from Arab and Muslim governments
The Foreign Ministers of the State of Qatar, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Turkey, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Republic of Egypt praised the role of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and his sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza and expressed their appreciation for his ability to find a path to peace.
The ministers emphasized the importance of partnership with the United States in establishing peace in the region, and in this context welcomed President Trump’s announcement of his proposal which includes ending the war, rehabilitating Gaza, preventing the displacement of the Palestinian people, promoting a comprehensive peace process, as well as his declaration that no displacement from the West Bank will be allowed.
The ministers stressed their readiness to cooperate positively with the United States and all relevant parties to complete the agreement and ensure its implementation in a way that guarantees peace, security, and stability for the peoples of the region.
They also reiterated their commitment to work with the United States to end the war in Gaza through a comprehensive agreement that will ensure the continuation of humanitarian aid to the population in the Strip, prevent the displacement of Palestinians, lead to the release of prisoners, promote the creation of a safe environment for all parties, full Israeli withdrawal, rehabilitation of Gaza, and the start of a just peace process based on a two-state solution, establishing a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian state over all the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in accordance with international law, considering this as a key to achieving regional stability and security.
In addition, a number of other leaders issued statements including the leaders of France and Italy. The President of France said: “Hamas has no choice but to immediately release all the hostages and follow this plan”
The Office of the Prime Minister of Italy responded: “We welcome President Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war and stand ready to do our part.”
The assessment
The ideology of Hamas and its allies as well as its patrons contradict the spirit of the Trump plan. If Qatar compels Hamas to accept, the leadership is likely to relocate to Turkey, Iran, or as the last resort to Yemen. Already Hamas has rejected Tony Blair’s role by calling him the “devil’s brother”, a term used by terrorist groups to refer to the UK.
Hamas political bureau member Husam Badran published its views in a group on Telegram. They followed a report in Israel’s Haaretz daily quoting an Arab political source as saying the US administration has drawn up a plan to appoint Blair to head a temporary administration in Gaza. Badran said linking any plan to Blair “is an ominous sign for the Palestinian people,” describing him as “a negative figure who deserves to stand before international courts for his crimes, especially his role in the war on Iraq (from 2003–2011).”
He went further, calling Blair “the devil’s brother,” and said he “has brought nothing good to the Palestinian cause, the Arabs or the Muslims, and his criminal, destructive role has been well known for years.”
Badran stressed that managing Palestinian affairs in Gaza or the West Bank is an “internal matter that must be decided through national consensus, not imposed by any regional or international party.”
Badran added, “The Palestinian people are capable of managing themselves; we have the resources and expertise to run our own affairs and our relations with the region and the world,” he added.
The second most powerful group in Gaza after Hamas is the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). A group sponsored by Iran, PIJ stated, “What was announced at the press conference between Trump and Netanyahu is an American-Israeli agreement, an expression of the entire Israeli position, and a recipe for ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people. Therefore, Israel is trying to impose, through the United States, what it failed to achieve through war. Therefore, we see the American-Israeli declaration as a recipe for regional explosion”.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighting unit in Gaza
The PIJ that rejected the Trump deal is a capable group of fighters in Gaza. The Research Division of the IDF Intelligence Branch estimated the strength of PIJ at 2500 and Hamas at 5,000 fighters in Gaza City. The Israel authorities know PIJ intimately as Mossad assassinated Fathi Abd al-Aziz al-Shikaki, its founder head in Malta in 1995 and penetrated the group significantly.
The Future
As ideology and operational capabilities define threat, armed conflict will persist as long as Hamas persist. Hamas leadership, membership and support base was deeply influenced by Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Based on the debriefing of its members, they watched Islamic State’s graphic videos and images of beheading and murder. Although it’s operational capabilities have suffered, the ideology of Hamas remains intact.
When Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, was interviewed by Lebanese channel LBC on October 24, 2023, he said referring to the Al-Aqsa Flood, the name Hamas gave its October 7 attack, “We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it twice and three times. The Al-Aqsa Deluge is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth,” Hamad continued. “Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs.”
The totalitarian ideology of Hamas and its patron Iran calls for the destruction of Israel. Hamad said that Israel’s existence is “illogical” and that it must be wiped off all “Palestinian lands,” a term the terror group uses to mean the West Bank, Gaza and Israel – although Palestine was originally the land of the Jews, Christians and Arabs. Gaza in particular was a part of a vast Greco-Roman civilisation where to this date Greek and Roman antiquities are found in abundance.
Unless there is a concerted program to address the genuine grievances and aspirations of the Palestinians, the anger and the animosity between the Palestinians and Jews will persist. Similarly, as long as Iran supports a range of partners and proxies including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, these groups will remain a long-term threat to the security and stability of the region, and beyond. The threat posed by Iran can only be managed but not ended unless the Tehran regime is replaced. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called Israel a “cancerous tumor” that he vowed would be “eradicated.” An emerging nuclear power, Iran will continue to play an important role in the Middle East through its partners and proxies in the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
Trump’s team of negotiators were skilled in successfully engaging the governments of Israeli, Arab, Commonwealth and European governments.
Having cultivated the state actors, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and former senior adviser, were instrumental in delivering a successful outcome. Preceding the meeting at the White House, Trump himself called Netanyahu a half a dozen times to ensure that the Israel concerns were discussed if not addressed. However, the negotiating team failed to realise the paramount importance of adequately engaging with Hamas, PIJ and other threat groups in parallel with engaging the state actors. Though the Arab and Muslim governments have leverage over the threat groups in Gaza, the negotiators should have consulted Hamas, PIJ and other threat groups before finalising the Trump plan. Many of these threat groups harbour ideologies that they will not compromise. The phase of war in Gaza is unlikely to end in the immediate term.
Rohan Gunaratna is the editor of the ‘Handbook of Terrorism in the Middle East’ published by World Scientific Publishing