By: Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Time is running out for Hamas. U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a 21-point plan for Gaza, but only gave the Palestinian armed resistance group 3-4 days to respond.
Israeli planes and tanks pounded residential neighborhoods in Gaza throughout the night. Local health authorities said that at least 35 people across Gaza had been killed by the military on Wednesday, most of them in Gaza City.
While the world awaits Hamas’ response, a strike on the old city in northwestern Gaza City killed seven people, while six people sheltering in a school in another part of the city were killed in a separate strike.
The Israeli military issued new orders for people to leave for the south and said it would no longer allow those to return to the north, as Gaza City came under heavy bombing.
Defence Minister Israel Katz described the move as “tightening the encirclement around Gaza on the way to defeating Hamas”, saying Palestinians willing to leave to the south would have to go through army vetting.
“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas operatives isolated in Gaza City itself in the face of the IDF’s continuing full-scale operations,” Katz said.
The Israeli military also said that starting on Wednesday it would no longer allow people to use a coastal road to move from the south to communities in the north.
Gaza continues to suffer from genocide, starvation and lack of basic medical care. Israel continues to prevent aid trucks into Gaza, and has prevented the Gaza flotilla, consisting of 52 ships from 44 countries filled with aid to arrive. Israel has killed over 60,000 people in the war crime of collective punishment, where women and children were executed for the crimes of Hamas.
Trump’s plan includes a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and a transitional international governance structure aimed at ending the war and overseeing the strip's reconstruction.
The plan has received cautious support from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but is being met with significant reservations from Hamas, Israeli extremists, and some Arab partners.
A Detailed Breakdown of the Plan:
Ceasefire and Hostage Release: The proposal mandates an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire across Gaza. It requires the unconditional release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas within 48 hours, coupled with the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including 100-200 serving long sentences.
Demilitarization and Hamas Exit: A central pillar demands that Hamas must disarm and its members leave Gaza. Amnesty would be offered to members who agree to peaceful coexistence. An international Arab force, operating under a time-bound framework, would be tasked with collecting weapons.
Transitional Governance: Gaza would be governed by a temporary international body, tentatively named the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA). Palestinian technocrats would manage daily affairs under the supervision of Arab and European partners, with no role for Hamas or other militant groups. A "Board of Peace," reportedly to be chaired by Trump, would oversee the recruitment and training of the new government.
Reconstruction and Humanitarian Relief: The plan guarantees unhindered entry of humanitarian aid via the UN and international organizations, with safe corridors established across Gaza. A five-year reconstruction plan led by an international and Arab consortium is proposed, with an initial budget of $90 million, rising to $164 million by the third year.
Political Guarantees and Future Path: Israel would withdraw to an agreed line, explicitly avoiding the annexation of Gaza or the West Bank. The plan encourages Palestinians to remain in Gaza, ruling out forced displacement. It offers a conditional pathway to future Palestinian statehood, contingent on reforms and peaceful governance, with final-status negotiations to resume between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Trump presented the plan at the UN recently, but it has since undergone significant revisions, and was fundamentally altered by the US and Israel.
Trump aide Jared Kushner, envoy Steve Witkoff, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair made changes, which were followed by further modifications from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The revised text directly links the Israeli withdrawal to progress on disarming Hamas and grants Israel a potential veto over the entire process. Arab officials involved in the negotiations are angry at being shut out of the revision process.
Critics of the plan question the authority of Trump, appointing himself as the sole ruler of Gaza, while the UN Security Council is a bystander.
Experts on international law point out that Palestinians do not need to earn their freedom, it is their undeniable human right.
Israel's core strategic war aims—disarming Hamas and securing the release of prisoners—without entangling it in a prolonged and costly occupation are met in the plan. However, Netanyahu faces pressure from extremist members of his government, because the plan references a future role for the Palestinian Authority and an ambiguous prospect of statehood, which contradicts the Prime Minister's public pledges to never allow Palestinians their freedom.
Netanyahu's extremist coalition partners, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said the agreement was "full of holes" and a "diplomatic failure," while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called it a "leadership tragedy."
There are two opposing viewpoints within Hamas: one favoring conditional acceptance, and another with major reservations, especially on disarmament, which would spell rejection of the plan.
Hamas has objected to conditions placed on Palestinian statehood, contingent on reforms and peaceful governance.
Final-status negotiations are to resume between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but no timetable is offered.
Hamas has demanded international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and assurances that Israel will not violate any future ceasefire.
“Accepting the plan is a disaster, rejecting it is another disaster, there are only bitter choices here, but the plan is a Netanyahu plan articulated by Trump,” a Palestinian official, familiar with Hamas’ deliberations with other factions, told Reuters.
Hamas negotiators held discussions Tuesday with Turkish, Egyptian and Qatari officials in Doha.
Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” and guarantees that no assassinations attempts will be made inside or outside the territory.
“So far there are two views within Hamas: the first supports unconditional approval because the important thing is to have a ceasefire guaranteed by Trump, provided that the mediators guarantee Israel’s implementation of the plan,” the source said, also requesting anonymity.
But others have “great reservations on important clauses”, the source added. “They reject disarmament and for any Palestinian citizen to be taken away from Gaza.”
The plan states that Israel would eventually withdraw from Gaza but does not define a time frame. Hamas has long demanded that Israel must fully withdraw from Gaza for the war to end.
While we wait for Hamas to decide the fate of millions in Gaza, the suffering, death and destruction continues without end.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.