Hamas will face ‘complete obliteration’ if it refuses to cede power in Gaza, Trump says
In an interview with CNN, the US president, Donald Trump, said Hamas will face “complete obliteration” if the Palestinian militant group refuses to give up power and control of Gaza.
When asked if his ally Benjamin Netanyahu is on board with ending the bombing in Gaza, Trump told CNN on Saturday: “Yes on Bibi.”
In the interview that aired on Sunday, Trump added that he expects to soon know whether Hamas is committed to peace.
Trump’s plan requires Hamas to return all 48 hostages – about 20 of them thought by Israel to still be alive – give up power and disarm in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and an end to Israel’s assault.
However, the proposal, which has been accepted by Netanyahu, sets no path to Palestinian statehood.
Hamas only agreed to three points: the release of all hostages, the surrendering of power and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
As my colleague William Christou notes in this story, Hamas said the rest of the deal would have to be discussed alongside other Palestinian parties, as it is part of a “collective national stance”.
In practice, this means Hamas wants further negotiations on the thornier parts of the Trump deal, particularly the request that it disarms, and a solid timetable on Israel’s withdrawal.
Key events
US senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has called on the American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to “do his job” and protect US citizens being held in an Israeli prison after their Gaza-bound aid flotilla was intercepted this week.
“The US government says its number-one obligation is to protect American citizens abroad. So regardless of what they thought about the flotilla, they have a duty to look out for the safety and security of these American citizens,” Van Hollen said in a video posted on social media.
In the accompanying caption, he wrote: “On Friday I spoke with relatives of Americans on the Gaza aid flotilla who were being detained by Netanyahu’s government.
Ambassador Huckabee says his highest duty is to protect Americans abroad but has done virtually nothing to return them. He needs to do his job.”
In the Bulgarian capital Sofia, hundreds of demonstrators marched – some carrying signs saying “Gaza: starvation is a weapon of war” and “Gaza is the biggest graveyard of children.”
Organisers said they wanted to “pay tribute to the heroes of the Global Sumud flotilla”, including Bulgarian activist Vasil Dimitrov, the Associated Press said.
Many Moroccans took to the streets of the capital Rabat also in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. Protesters demanded the release of the flotilla activists, including Moroccan human rights defender Aziz Ghali, who remains in an Israeli prison.
An estimated 250,000 people, most dressed in red, gathered in Amsterdam to press the Dutch government to take tougher action against Israel.
After packing the central Museum Square, the protesters walked through the city centre, holding Palestinian flags and peace emblems.
Sunday’s protest and march through the Dutch capital comes less than four weeks before national elections. Two “red line” demonstrations in The Hague earlier this year also drew tens of thousands of people.
The Dutch government has long been a staunch supporter of Israel but has, in recent months, been more critical as international support for Israel has ebbed.
On Friday, foreign minister David van Weel said it was unlikely he would grant an export licence to send parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel.
Hundreds of thousands march in European cities
Hundreds of thousands of people across several European cities have marched in support of Palestinians and an aid flotilla’s attempt to reach Gaza.
Istanbul held the largest of multiple demonstrations being staged in Turkey. Footage showed crowds walking from the Hagia Sophia mosque to the banks of the Golden Horn [inlet of the Bosphorus], where they were greeted by dozens of boats decked in Turkish and Palestinian flags.
The marchers called for Muslim solidarity with Palestinians following midday prayers in front of the former Byzantine cathedral, now converted to a mosque.
The protests were among others planned for Sunday in several cities to mark the second anniversary of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Israel’s attacks have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry that is part of the Hamas-run government.
Israel deports further 29 flotilla activists
Israel has deported a further 29 activists detained by the navy last week for taking part in a flotilla that sought to deliver aid to blockaded Gaza, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the territory where Israel has been waging an offensive since Hamas’s October 2023 attack. Israel says the blockade is legal and has called the flotilla a provocation.
Israel has so far deported at least 170 of the more than 450 activists it detained. The government has faced accusations of mistreatment, including allegations that some activists were denied access to their lawyers, claims which the foreign ministry denies.
An Israeli delegation led by strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer will fly to Egypt on Monday to take part in talks on Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday.
The negotiations will be held in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Netanyahu’s office added in a statement to Reuters.
Greece offers to help end war
Helena Smith
Greece, one of the closest EU member states to Israel, politically and geographically, has also weighed in today with an offer of diplomatic assistance to end the war in Gaza. In his weekly post on social media, the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined the importance “for lasting peace” of creating two states in the region.
“All hostages must be released immediately, hostilities must end and humanitarian aid must be intensified. We are in constant contact with allies and partners in the region,” the leader wrote.
“The prospect of creating two states in the region must be kept alive, with real security conditions, as the only solution for lasting peace for the benefit of the entire region.”
Greek-Israeli ties are among the strongest in the EU though strains in relations were evident this week when Athens issued a “a strong written protest” to Israel over the treatment of activists aboard the Global Sumud flotilla.
The protest was made after Israeli forces intercepted and arrested those aboard the 42-strong fleet as it sought to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged coastal strip. Among the 450 detainees were 27 Greek nationals, including a leftist MP.
The protest note singled out the “unacceptable and inappropriate behaviour” of far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir although it did not name the minister.
Confirming that all 27 were in “good health”, the Greek foreign ministry announced in the last hour that it would dispatch a specially chartered plane to southern Israel’s Eilat-Ramon international airport to “return [the detainees] safely back to Athens”.
Mitsotakis’s centre-right government has faced stiff opposition over its handling of the affair. Today’s late afternoon announcement followed an excoriating letter written by relatives of the detainees slamming government officials for the “indifference” they had shown towards “to the abductees, as well as [the government’s] refusal to take a position on the abduction of Greek citizens by Israel”.
Trump was asked by a reporter outside the White House this morning if there is any flexibility on his 20-point Gaza plan.
“We don’t need flexibility because everybody has pretty much agreed to it. But there’ll always be some changes,” Trump said. “But the Hamas plan, I’ll tell you – it’s amazing.”
He added: “They’ve been fighting for a plan for years. We get the hostages back almost immediately. Negotiations are going on right now, will probably take a couple of days, and people are very happy about it.”
US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that his deal that aims to end the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel is a “great deal” for Israel.
Hamas drew a favorable response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point proposal, including ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal, and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives.
In a phone call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz urged that talks in Egypt lead to a swift agreement on ending the conflict in Gaza, a German government spokesperson told Reuters.
“The Chancellor expressly supports President Trump’s peace plan,” the government statement said. “Almost two years after the October 7, 2023 terror attack, this is the best chance for peace for the hostages and peace for Gaza.”
The spokesperson added: “The announced withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza is the right step. Talks in Egypt must now lead to a swift end to hostilities, a comprehensive release of hostages, full humanitarian access, and Hamas’ disarmament.”
Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza reaches 67,139, says health ministry
At least 67,139 Palestinian people have been killed and 169,583 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Most of the people killed have been civilians, many of whom were women and children.
At least 65 Palestinian people were killed and 153 others injured in the last 24 hours alone, the ministry, whose figures are generally seen as reliable by the UN, said.
It added in its post on Telegram:
A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the streets, as ambulances and civil defense crews are unable to reach them until now.
Summary of the day so far…
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The US president, Donald Trump, told CNN that Hamas will face “complete obliteration” if the Palestinian militant group refuses to give up power and control of Gaza.
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Trump’s 20-point proposal to end the war stipulates that Hamas release all hostages within 72 hours, surrender ruling power to a transnational authority headed by the US president, and disarm. In return, Israel would gradually withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and return more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
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The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said Israel’s war in Gaza has “not yet” ended, describing the release of the hostages held by Hamas as the first phase, while details on what happens after that still need to be worked out.
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Rubio said that Israel needs to stop bombing Gaza for the hostage release by Hamas to take place, and that we are the closest we have been in a very long time to having no hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
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A senior Hamas official told AFP: “Hamas is very keen to reach an agreement to end the war and immediately begin the prisoner exchange process in accordance with the field conditions.”
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Israel said on Sunday that its team of negotiators would depart for Egypt later in the day for indirect talks with Hamas expected to begin on Monday, which are expected to be “technical” in nature.
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Trump has ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza, but residents and local hospitals said deadly airstrikes continued across the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio told CBS News that Israel needs to stop bombing Gaza for the hostage release to safely take place.
“I think the Israelis and everyone acknowledge you can’t release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop,” Rubio told the Face the Nation programme on Sunday.
“There can’t be a war going on in the middle of it,” he added.
His comments come after at least 16 people were killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn on Sunday, according to reports and health officials.
Hamas will face ‘complete obliteration’ if it refuses to cede power in Gaza, Trump says
In an interview with CNN, the US president, Donald Trump, said Hamas will face “complete obliteration” if the Palestinian militant group refuses to give up power and control of Gaza.
When asked if his ally Benjamin Netanyahu is on board with ending the bombing in Gaza, Trump told CNN on Saturday: “Yes on Bibi.”
In the interview that aired on Sunday, Trump added that he expects to soon know whether Hamas is committed to peace.
Trump’s plan requires Hamas to return all 48 hostages – about 20 of them thought by Israel to still be alive – give up power and disarm in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and an end to Israel’s assault.
However, the proposal, which has been accepted by Netanyahu, sets no path to Palestinian statehood.
Hamas only agreed to three points: the release of all hostages, the surrendering of power and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
As my colleague William Christou notes in this story, Hamas said the rest of the deal would have to be discussed alongside other Palestinian parties, as it is part of a “collective national stance”.
In practice, this means Hamas wants further negotiations on the thornier parts of the Trump deal, particularly the request that it disarms, and a solid timetable on Israel’s withdrawal.
Here are some more of what the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said in his NBC interview.
He said Hamas had “basically” agreed to Donald Trump’s proposal and the framework for releasing the hostages, while meetings were underway to coordinate the logistics of that.
“They have also agreed, in principle and generalities, to enter into this idea about what’s going to happen afterwards,” Rubio said. “A lot of details are going to have to be worked out there.”
He said the US would know “very quickly” whether Hamas was serious or not during the current technical talks to coordinate the release of the hostages.
“Priority number one, the one that we think we can achieve something very quickly on hopefully, is the release of all the hostages in exchange for Israel moving back” to the yellow line – where Israel stood within Gaza in the middle of August – Rubio said.
He described the second phase of the long-term future of Gaza as “even harder”.
“What happens after Israel pulls back to the yellow line, and potentially beyond that, as this thing develops? How do you create this Palestinian technocratic leadership that’s not Hamas?” Rubio said. “How do you disarm any sort of terrorist groups that are going to be building tunnels and conducting attacks against Israel? How do you get them to demobilize?”
“All that work, that’s going to be hard, but that’s critical, because without that, you’re not going to have lasting peace,” he added.
No ceasefire in Gaza, only temporary halt in some bombings – Israeli government
Shosh Bedrosian, an Israeli government spokesperson, has been quoted by Reuters as just having said that there was no ceasefire in place in Gaza, only a temporary halt in certain bombings.
The military can continue to act in Gaza for so-called defensive purposes, Bedrosian added.
Bedrosian also confirmed that Israel’s team of negotiators would depart for Egypt later in the day for indirect talks with Hamas expected to begin on Monday.
The war in Gaza is not over yet, US secretary of state says
Marco Rubio has said that war in Gaza has not yet ended and work remains after Israel and Hamas both agreed to parts of Donald Trump’s plan.
“We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” the US secretary of state told NBC News’ Meet the Press about the release of hostages from Gaza.
Rubio also acknowledged that the second phase of Trump’s plan, in which disarmament and demobilisation are expected to be discussed, will be “hard”.
Four leftwing French politicians who were detained by Israel after boarding a Gaza-bound flotilla have declared a hunger strike, their party said.
“We have no news from them” apart from “brief exchanges with their lawyers and with the French consul who was able to visit them,” Manon Aubry, an MEP with France Unbowed, told the French radio station Franceinfo on Sunday.
“Their detention conditions are difficult,” she said, describing more than 10 people per cell and difficulty accessing water.
France Unbowed announced Saturday that two of its national deputies, Francois Piquemal and Marie Mesmeur, and two of its MEPs, Rima Hassan and Emma Fourreau, had declared a hunger strike “in solidarity with the Palestinian people”.
Agence France-Press reported that Aubry called on French authorities to repatriate their nationals.
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