Hamas Agrees On Trump's Proposal, Macron: We Have An Opportunity For Gaza Peace
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his full support for international peace efforts, following Hamas' statement accepting plans for a ceasefire and exchange of hostages proposed by President Donald Trump.
"We have an opportunity to make real progress towards peace," Macron wrote on social media platform X, reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Saturday, October 4.
He stressed France would play an active role according to its efforts at the United Nations with the United States, Israel, Palestine, and other global partners.
Macron praised Trump and his team for their "commitment to peace."
He urged that Hamas' response be followed up immediately, and called the ceasefire and the release of all hostages now within reach.
Hamas previously approved Trump's plans, including the release of all Israeli hostages, the handover of the bodies of victims, and the handover of the Gaza government to the independent Palestinian technocrat authorities.
Trump gave Hamas a deadline until Sunday at 18.00 Washington time (200 GMT) to approve the plan.
The plan aims to make Gaza an arms-free zone with a transitional government supervised by the new international body under Trump's leadership.
The contents of the plan include the release of all Israeli hostages within 72 hours of approval, exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
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The document also calls for an end to hostilities, the armament of armed groups in Gaza, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the region, which will be managed by technocrat authorities under US scrutiny.
Israel has blockaded Gaza, a Palestinian enclave of nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years.
Since March, the blockade has been tightened with border closures and bans on food and medical aids, pushing the region to the brink of starvation.
Since October 2023, Israeli airstrikes have killed nearly 66,300 Palestinians, the majority of women and children. The United Nations and human rights groups say Gaza is now barely habitable, with hunger and disease spreading amid mass evacuation.