Hamas says it is yet to see details of US peace plan, which calls for transitional authority to govern post-war Gaza
Israel has agreed to a US plan for ending the war in Gaza that calls for the creation of a new authority to run the territory involving Sir Tony Blair.
Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement during a joint press conference at the White House.
Netanyahu declared his support for the US proposal, calling it a âcritical stepâ towards peace in Gaza and the Middle East more widely.
However, he warned that if Hamas did not accept it, Israel would would âfinish the jobâ in Gaza.
âThis can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done,â he said. âWe prefer the easy way, but it has to be done.â
Trump said Israel would have the âfull backingâ of the US if Hamas rejects the deal.
âI also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that weâve seen for so many years, decades, even centuries and begin a new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the entire region,â the US President told the press conference.
Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said the group had not yet received the written proposal.
Earlier, Netanyahu used the White House visit to extend a formal apology to Qatarâs prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, for a recent military strike targeting Hamas officials in the Gulf emirate.
The attack infuriated Arab leaders and triggered rare criticism by the US.
Before the two leaders took to the stage, the White House released the 20-point plan to the media.
It would effectively put the territory and its more than 2 million people under the control of an international security force.
Gaza would then be temporarily governed by a transitional committee of qualified Palestinian and international experts, with oversight from a new international transitional body, referred to as the âBoard of Peaceâ.
It would be chaired by Trump, working alongside other international leaders, including Sir Tony.
First, the plan calls for all hostilities to immediately end. Within 72 hours, Hamas would release all hostages it still holds, living or dead. The militants still hold 48 hostages â 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive.
In return, Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in its prisons as well as 1,700 people detained from Gaza since the war began, including all woman and children.
Israel would also hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for each body of a hostage handed over.
Israeli troops would then withdraw from the territory, but only after Hamas disarms and an international security force is deployed.
Hamas would have no part in administering Gaza, and all its military infrastructure â including tunnels â would be dismantled.
Members who pledge to live peacefully would be granted amnesty, and those who wish to leave Gaza would be allowed to.
The international security force would train Palestinian police to take over law enforcement. Mediator Egypt has said it is training thousands of Palestinian police to deploy to Gaza.
The plan also specifies that Palestinians would not be expelled from Gaza, and for an international effort to rebuild the territory.
Meanwhile, humanitarian aid would be allowed to flow into Gaza in large amounts and would be run by âneutral international bodies,â including the UN and the Red Crescent.
Last month, UN-backed food security experts declared a famine in Gaza City and its surrounding areas, describing it as âentirely man-made.â
It is unclear whether the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, a controversial alternative food distribution system backed by Israel and the US, would continue to operate.
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