The Trump administration proposed a 21-point Gaza Peace Plan, which requires Hamas to be released within 48 hours of the agreement, according to sources familiar with the proposal, and proposed setting up a roadmap for Gaza once the war is over.
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about resolving the conflict, saying they were “very close” to the deal on Friday.
Meanwhile, attacks on Israeli enclaves continue, and the troops escalate recent attacks, forcing many to flee Gaza as the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) rushes deep into urban areas.
However, on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war until Hamas was destroyed.
For Netanyahu, this plan could be a problem given his acknowledgement of his aspirations for a Palestinian state.
Sources say the release of hostages, although the approximately 20 people still thought to be still alive, is still alive, will be in exchange for a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The plan would deny Hamas’ future role in Gaza’s governance, sources said. Instead, two levels of interim governance on the territory, namely a comprehensive international body and the Palestinian Commission.
The proposal by international organizations to hand over Gaza’s leadership to the Palestinian Authorities (PA) does not have a timeline in which nominal autonomy is exercised in parts of the occupied West Bank and faces heavy Israeli restrictions.
The Israeli government has permanently rejected the role of the PA in running through Gaza.
This plan does not show that the United States supports the creation of a Palestinian state, but recognizes it as a Palestinian aspiration.
The Trump administration has been extremely critical of moves by other governments, including the UK, France and Canada, to recognize the Palestinian state. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described it as reckless. However, the US plan could provide a pathway to some form of Palestinian autonomy.
While speaking at the UN General Assembly on Friday, Netanyahu repeated his opposition to the Palestinian state, saying, “Giving Palestinians from Jerusalem is like giving al-Qaeda a state a mile away from New York City after September 11th.”
The US blueprint also says there is no forced displacement of Gaza’s population, according to sources. Earlier this year, Trump spoke about the US taking over Gaza and rebuilding it while relocating its entire population of 2 million. Since then, the Israeli government has supported the idea of removing Palestinian Gaza, but it says its residents won’t force them to leave.
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump held meetings with many leaders from Muslim countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan, calling it the “most important meeting” of the day.
The US plan has been presented to the UN Arab countries, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday. “We are looking forward to it and we may be confident that we can announce some kind of breakthrough in the next few days,” Witkoff said.
Sources familiar with the plan told CNN specifically that Israel would not attack Qatar again. Israel targeted Hamas leaders in Doha earlier this month, just days after Hamas said it was considering another US proposal.
Trump has also expressed optimism about resolving the conflict, saying the deal is “very close.”
In a social media post Friday, Trump welcomed what he called “inspiration and productive discussion” with his Middle Eastern partners to end the war in Gaza.
“The intense negotiations have been going on for four days and will continue as long as necessary to obtain a successful agreement,” Trump wrote.
He added, “All countries in the region are involved, Hamas is very familiar with these arguments and Israel is informed at all levels, including Prime Minister Bibi (Benjamin) Netanyahu.”
It is unclear whether Hamas has offered a proposal, but this has been undergoing recent revisions and could still be tweaked. It could be relayed through Katalis to what remains of the Hamas negotiating team in Doha.
Hamas said on Sunday that it had not received new proposals for a ceasefire. In a statement, he reiterated that he was “ready to investigate the proposals received from the mediator brothers in a positive and responsible way, supporting the national rights of our people.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday.
Trump stressed that the goal of the negotiations is to reclaim hostages and establish “a lasting, long-lasting peace.”
It is still unclear how the plan will be perceived in Israel, where members of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition threatened to collapse the government if the war ended before Hamas was eradicated. The far-right minister is pushing for a full acquisition of Gaza and for expanding the sovereignty of many or all of the occupied West Bank.
Israeli politicians posted a message on social media about the peace plan as Shabbat ended on Saturday. Itamar Ben Gwil, the Minister of Far Right, came out as opposed, with Netanyahu writing in a brief post by X that “there is no order to end the war without Hamas’ complete defeat.”
Ben Gwil and far-right Finance Minister Bezarel Smotlich have consistently opposed hostage trade and ceasefire arrangements throughout the war, instead pushing for military pressure and full occupation of the territory to continue and fully occupy them. They threatened to overthrow the Netanyahu government if the war was to end.
Minutes after Ben Geville posted, Netanyahu Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote in his own post that he trusted the prime minister in talks with Trump, saying he would “represent Israel’s interests if necessary.” “After two years of war, Israel’s clear national interest is to end the war and achieve its purpose,” he said.
Netanyahu’s ultra-orthodox coalition partners also came out in support of hostage deals that would end the war.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told US officials on Saturday that “Netanyahu has a safety net from me for hostage trade and ending the war.”
“The Knesset (Congress) has this majority, and there is a majority in the country,” Rapid wrote to X: CNN reached out to Smotrich for comment.
For now, the Israeli military campaign in Gaza continues unabated.
The IDF says 700,000 people have left Gaza City since being ordered to do so earlier this month. CNN cannot see these numbers. Despite the massive departure of Palestinians, hundreds of thousands are believed to be still in Gaza City.
Over the weekend, Israeli forces said it was a “enhanced strike” in Gaza, adding that they were using “automatically explosive armored vehicles” from Gaza City “to neutralize explosive devices” before the forces enter the country.
The enclave hospital reported at least 96 people died on the Israeli strike on Saturday. The majority were recorded in Gaza city.
Residents told CNN about the violent attacks of Israel. “An hour ago, the Israeli forces exploded five robots from the Al Sabra region, which exploded every 10 minutes,” said Abu Yassar Al-Kour of the Al Sabra region of Gaza City.
“The situation is very difficult near the Al-Hawa and Al-Huh roundabouts of Al-Kur, in Al-Hawa and Al-Sabra. The tanks are stationed there and the collision with the plane never stops, so the shooting never stops.”
Zakaria Bakr, 53, from the Alshathi refugee camp west of Gaza, told CNN that the camp is mostly empty. “All the means of life there have been gone. The whole alleyway has become a tiled rub.”
Israeli military operations include three divisions that are pushing to be in an effort to wipe out Hamas bases to control the largest urban areas of the territory, as Israel says.
