Hamas said on Friday it was ready to start immediate talks on freeing the Israeli hostages it holds and ending the Gaza war, welcoming US President Donald Trump's call for Israel to stop bombing the Palestinian territory.
Trump's peace proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a halt to hostilities in the nearly two-year conflict, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament -- a point the Islamist group did not mention in its response.
The plan also insists that Hamas and other factions "not have any role in the governance of Gaza", with administration of the territory instead taken up by a technocratic body overseen by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.
"President Trump's statements on the immediate cessation of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip are encouraging," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu told AFP.
"Hamas is ready to immediately begin negotiations to achieve a prisoner exchange, end the war and ensure the withdrawal of the (Israeli) army from the Gaza Strip," he added.
Netanyahu's office said in response that Israel was "preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages".
"We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which align with President Trump's vision," Netanyahu's office said.
An AFP journalist in the Gaza Strip's coastal area of Al-Mawasi said they heard celebratory cries of "Allahu akbar!" (God is the greatest) rise from tents housing Palestinians as news of Hamas's response filtered through.
"The moment I read the news... my body trembled and shivered. A feeling came over me, like. 'Oh Allah, at last relief has come to us,'" Samah Al-Hu, a displaced Palestinian in Al-Mawasi, said.
Mohammad Abu Hatab, a Palestinian in Gaza City, said he was "very happy with Hamas's positive response and its opening of the door to new negotiations".
"We hope, with the efforts of mediators, that the war is completely halted and our joy is fulfilled," he told AFP.
Trump hailed the developments as a "very special day", adding in a brief video that all sides in any Gaza talks would be "treated fairly".
- Hopeful reactions -
Earlier, Trump praised a statement from Hamas saying it was committed to a "lasting peace", after the US leader gave the group until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan or else face "all hell".
In that statement, Hamas also agreed to hand over power in Gaza to technocrats but said it would "participate and contribute responsibly" in Palestinian discussions regarding the territory's future.
The announcements came after a Palestinian source close to Hamas's leadership told AFP this week that its leaders had been divided over the peace plan and hoped to change certain clauses.
Friday's developments drew a chorus of hopeful reactions from the international community.
Key mediators Qatar and Egypt both welcomed Hamas's statements, saying they hoped it would help towards ensuring an end to the conflict.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "urges all parties to seize the opportunity", his spokesman said.
Emmanuel Macron of France, Friedrich Merz of Germany and Keir Starmer of Britain all hailed it as a major step towards peace.
Regional neighbour Turkey said Hamas's response "provides an opportunity for the immediate establishment of a ceasefire in Gaza".
- Heavy bombardment -
On the ground on Friday, Gaza's civil defence agency -- a rescue force operating under Hamas authority -- reported heavy air bombardment and artillery shelling on Gaza City.
It said Israeli strikes killed at least 11 people across the territory, including eight in Gaza City, but there was no response from the Israeli military when contacted by AFP.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP cannot independently verify details or casualty figures provided by the Israeli military or the civil defence.
The Israeli military is waging an air and ground offensive on the territory's largest urban centre, from which hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee.
As the war nears the two-year mark and the death toll continues to rise, protesters around the world have railed against Israel's interception of a flotilla carrying pro-Palestinian activists and aid for Gaza.
On Friday, the organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said its last remaining boat had been intercepted, and Israel's foreign ministry said it had deported four Italian participants.
The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.
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