International reactions have been pouring in following Hamas’s positive response on Friday to US President Donald Trump’s plan to free Israeli hostages in Gaza and end the nearly two-year conflict.
Here are some of the main reactions from around the world:
From the US, “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay,” Trump said on Saturday, on his Truth Social page.
“Let’s get this done, FAST.”
Trump on Friday had expressed appreciation that “Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing” — but Israel said on Saturday it was continuing with its military offensive in Gaza.
Israel also took a stance. “In light of Hamas’s response, Israel is preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
“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,” the statement added.
Qatar
Qatar welcomed “the announcement by Hamas of its agreement to President Trump’s plan,” said foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari, also expressing support for Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire.
Egypt said it hoped “this positive development will lead all parties to rise to the level of responsibility by committing to implementing President Trump’s plan on the ground and end the war.”
United Nations
UN Secretary-General António Guterres “welcomes” Hamas’s response and “urges all parties to seize the opportunity to bring the tragic conflict in Gaza to an end,” spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.
UN rights chief Volker Türk said he hoped the plan would “pave the way for a permanent cessation of hostilities... in line with international human rights and humanitarian laws.”
It was, he said, a “vital opportunity for all parties and influential states to pursue in good faith and stop — once and for all — the carnage and the suffering in Gaza, to flood the strip with humanitarian aid, and to ensure the release of the hostages and numerous detained Palestinians.”
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, added: “In two years, we have never been closer to securing peace than now. We cannot miss this opportunity. Too many lives have been lost and shattered,” he wrote on X.
Europe
“The release of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza are within reach!” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, joining a chorus of hopeful European reactions to Hamas’s response.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the plan represented “the best chance for peace” in the conflict and that Germany “fully supports” Trump’s “call upon both sides.”
Britain’s Keir Starmer called Hamas’s acceptance “a significant step forward” and urged all sides “to implement the agreement without delay.”
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he believed Hamas was showing, “as it has done many times before, that it is ready for peace.”
The foreign ministry said the Palestinian group’s response “provides an opportunity for the immediate establishment of a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Jordan
Jordan’s foreign ministry welcomed Hamas’s response.
It “stressed the need to immediately halt the Israeli aggression on Gaza, open the border crossings to allow the immediate, adequate, and sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to all parts of the strip, and launch a genuine effort to achieve a just peace.”
Lebanon’s Hezbollah
The head of the Hamas ally in Lebanon, Naim Qassam, said Washington’s Gaza ceasefire plan was “full of dangers” and accused Israel of using it to achieve what it “failed” to do during the war.
“It is Israel’s project, which it seeks to achieve through politics after failing to achieve it through military action, aggression, genocide, and famine,” he added.
