CAIRO, October 4. /TASS/. Palestine’s Hamas movement doubts that 72 hours will be enough for releasing all the living Israeli hostages and handing over all the bodies of the deceased to Israel, a member of the movement’s political bureau Moussa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera.
"The release of living hostages and the handover of dead bodies is unrealistic under the current circumstances," Al Jazeera quoted him as saying.
Abu Marzouk said Hamas will be ready to hand over its weapons to the future Palestinian government, which will govern the Gaza Strip. However, provisions regarding the deployment of a peacekeeping force in the enclave "require clarifications and further discussions."
The Hamas official said the movement "has agreed in principle to the main provisions of [US President Donald] Trump’s plan, but its implementation is yet to be discussed."
Earlier, Trump published the English-language response from Hamas to his proposals on Gaza. In it, the radicals say they are ready to release all Israeli hostages held in the enclave and to hand over the bodies of the deceased. The movement "affirms its readiness to immediately enter, through the mediators, into negotiations to discuss the details."
The movement also confirmed that it was ready "to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats) based on Palestinian national consensus and supported by Arab and Islamic backing." At the same time, the radicals said that "as for other issues included in President Trump’s proposal concerning the future of the Gaza Strip and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, this is tied to a collective national position. Hamas believes that it would require a "comprehensive Palestinian national framework, in which Hamas will be included and will contribute with full responsibility."
On September 29, the White House unveiled the US president’s "comprehensive plan" to resolve the Gaza conflict, consisting of 20 points. The proposal includes temporary external administration of the enclave and the deployment of international stabilization forces. Israel has voiced its support for the plan.
Earlier on Friday, Trump warned Hamas a "hell, like no one has ever seen before" if it doesn’t accept his plan by 6:00 p.m. EST (10:00 p.m. GMT) on Sunday.