U.S. President Donald Trump described the leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as “very strong, intelligent, and good negotiators,” following the agreement reached with Israel on a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
اضافة اعلان
Trump made the remarks during a press conference at the White House on Friday evening, responding to a question about the guarantees given to Hamas to convince them that Israel would not resume bombardment once its prisoners were returned. He said: “I spoke firmly. The world there is strong, and Hamas are very strong, intelligent, and good negotiators.”
He added that Hamas has “many options, and if they use them, they will be very successful. The Hamas leaders knew that retaliation would be immense and unbearable, and there would be total destruction, which they do not want, and no one wants that at this stage.”
The U.S. president affirmed that Hamas “wants to move forward with the agreement,” and stressed that he believes the deal “will hold because both sides are tired of fighting.”
Reconstruction
Trump stated that the reconstruction of Gaza “will be supported by wealthy countries in the region,” although he did not name any of them.
On Thursday, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on the first phase of his plan for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, following four days of indirect negotiations between the two sides in Sharm El-Sheikh, with the participation of Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar, and under U.S. supervision.
On September 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point plan including a halt to the war, gradual Israeli military withdrawal, mutual prisoner releases, immediate entry of aid into Gaza, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Yesterday, Friday, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into effect at 12:00 PM Jerusalem time (09:00 GMT), after the Israeli government approved the deal earlier that day.
