The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s call for Israel to stop attacks on Gaza and urged him to press Israel to implement the second phase of the peace plan.
“The remarks confirm President Trump’s commitment to the ceasefire track,” Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Monday.
He also called on the US leader to “pressure the Israeli occupation to abide by what was agreed upon to begin the second phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan.”
Earlier, Trump said, "Israelis should not be striking in Gaza. Hamas agreed to lay down their weapons."
Trump also said the US maintains a separate channel of communication with Hamas.
“We have a different channel with Hamas, and ultimately they are giving up their guns,” he said.
Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner began a planned meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Monday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, Israeli media reported.
Kushner was joined by the Board of Peace’s lead envoy for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, and board member and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the meeting, The Times of Israel said, citing an unnamed source.
The source said talks focus on “moving forward on all the elements (US President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan)” rather than seeking Tel Aviv's “signature” on the plan.
The discussions come after Kushner, accompanied by Mladenov and Blair, visited the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday and met with Hamas officials to hold similar discussions.
In October 2023, Israel launched genocide in Gaza that has killed over 73,000 and wounded more than 174,000 others.
Despite a ceasefire that has remained in place since October 2025 as part of the first phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, Israel has continued its attacks in the Palestinian enclave, killing at least 1,260 and injuring over 4,100 others, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The second phase of Trump’s plan envisages the transfer of administration in Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic committee, deploying an international stabilisation force and placing weapons under the responsibility of the National Committee for Gaza Administration under international supervision, alongside a phased Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction efforts.
The remarks come as Washington pushes ahead with efforts to implement Trump's Gaza peace plan, which includes the disarmament of Hamas and an Israeli military withdrawal from the enclave.
