President Trump welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu back to the White House today for the announcement of a peace initiative for Gaza.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes @IsraeliPM Benjamin Netanyahu back to the White House. 🇺🇸🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/nQAsLP6b3Z
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 29, 2025
The initiative consists of 20 bullet points, which were published in full by the White House.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 29, 2025
The key point is that Hamas must agree to lay down its weapons for good. Once they agree to that, the war will end and hostages and prisoners will be exchanged.
1. Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.p
2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.p
3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
5. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
In exchange for agreeing to cease hostilities, Hamas members will be given amnesty or passage out of Gaza.
6. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
7. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.
8. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement.
But this is a permanent end to any Hamas control of Gaza.
13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.
In exchange, Israel will not attempt to annex Gaza.
16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
And at the end of this path, if all goes well, is a slightly vague promise of statehood.
19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
Trump and Netanyahu then held a joint press conference where they spoke about the plan but didn't take any questions. Trump said he wanted to hold off on questions until they had firm commitments from more countries. The key point is that Netanyahu and other countries are on board with this proposal.
“I support your plan to end the war in Gaza,” Netanyahu tells Trump, “which achieves our war aims.”
And that puts all the pressure on Hamas to respond.
Without going into detail, Mr. Trump thanked Netanyahu "for agreeing to the plan," and said Hamas is the only party left to accept it.
The president said all parties will have to agree on a timeline for Israeli forces to withdraw. Arab and Muslim nations need to "deal with" Hamas, he said.
"I hope that we're going to have a deal for peace," Mr. Trump said. "And if Hamas rejects the deal, which is always possible — they're the only one left, everyone else has accepted it. But I have a feeling that we're going to have a positive answer."
There is a very clearly spelled-out "or else" with this plan. Netanyahu is on board but if Hamas refuses to agree, then the war will continue with Trump's full support. Trump is rambling a bit in this clip but if you skip near the end of this he says several times that if Hamas refuses then Netanyahu must do what he has to do.
President Trump: "Israel would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas. But I hope that we're going to have a deal for peace, and if Hamas rejects the deal...Bibi you'd have our full backing to do what you would have to do." pic.twitter.com/GtBcPkCTQE
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 29, 2025
Netanyahu also reiterated that point saying "This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way."
"If Hamas rejects your plan ... then Israel will finish the job by itself. This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way. But it will be done. We prefer the easy way, but it has to be done."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 29, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu issues warning to Hamas if they reject… pic.twitter.com/eJ4E6cIWea
So here's my take on this. President Trump is making a good faith effort to put an end to this war and clinch his Nobel Peace Prize. That said, I don't think Hamas is ever going to accept this plan and I don't think Netanyahu expects them to accept this plan. I'm not alone in thinking that, though the NY Times has these points in reverse order of importance.
Hamas is unlikely to accept Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza in its current form. For months, Hamas has insisted on a permanent end of the war and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces before releasing all of the remaining Israeli hostages.
The plan calls for the release of all hostages within 72 hours of Israel accepting its terms. In contrast, the timetable envisioned for an Israeli withdrawal is unclear...
The plan’s focus on demilitarizing Gaza also presents a challenge for Hamas. The group has publicly refused demands that it disarm.
Hamas has made clear many times that it will never accept any conclusion to the fighting that would result in them a) losing control of Gaza or b) laying down their weapons for good. This peace initiative asks them to do both and that is the real sticking point. Killing Jews and retaking the land of Israel is Hamas' reason for being. It seems extremely unlikely they will change.
What could happen, as Netanyahu suggests, is some fake commitment designed to give them breathing room followed by them later reneging on the agreement once they think they are in a position to do so. In other words, they may decide to lie as a survival strategy, but they will never seek peace. At this point, maybe clarifying that is what's needed.
How long can it possibly take for Hamas to respond to this. If they want peace, we should hear from them today. If there are any updates I'll post them below.
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