Topline
President Donald Trump said he would “not tolerate delay” from Hamas in releasing its remaining hostages as part of Trump’s peace plan both Israel and Hamas agreed to implement, at least partially.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Sept 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Key Facts
Trump warned “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off,” in a Truth Social post Saturday, adding “I will not tolerate delay.”
Trump also thanked Israel for having “temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed.”
Israel appeared to scale back its attacks in Gaza Saturday amid the cease-fire talks, and the Israeli military said it would reduce operations in Gaza to “the minimum” to prepare for implementation of Trump’s plan, The Guardian reported, citing Israeli army radio.
It’s unclear whether Israel has fully stopped the bombing, however—Reuters reported Saturday afternoon Eastern Time that at least 21 people had been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since Trump told Israel to stop the bombing after Hamas said Friday it would release Israeli hostages as part of Trump’s peace plan.
Trump told Axios Saturday he would push for a deal to be finalized in the coming days: “We are close,” he reportedly said, adding that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “this is your chance for victory” and “he was fine with it.”
“He’s got to be fine with it. He has no choice,” Trump told Axios.
Tangent
There are 48 Hamas hostages still in captivity, according to the Associated Press. The Israeli military believes 20 are still alive.
What To Watch For
U.S. Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner traveled to Egypt Saturday to finalize the terms of Trump’s peace deal, according to Axios.
Key Background
Trump and Netanyahu announced Monday a 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war, and Hamas said Friday it had agreed to release the remaining hostages, though it did not agree to the other details of the proposal. Responding to Hamas’ announcement, Trump called it a “big day” and urged Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!” In exchange for the hostages, Israel would release “250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context,” according to Trump’s plan. The proposal also calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza and for Hamas to disarm. Gaza would be “governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” until the Palestinian Authority has “completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals . . . and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza,” the plan states. The committee would be overseen by a “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump. The proposal was widely lauded by global leaders in the Middle East and Europe. If implemented successfully, it would mark one of Trump’s most significant foreign policy achievements.
Further Reading
Trump Gives Hamas Sunday Deadline To Accept Peace Deal Or Face ‘All HELL’ (Forbes)
Trump Proposes New Gaza Government ‘Board Of Peace’—With Himself As Chairman (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/10/04/trump-warns-hamas-must-move-quickly-to-release-hostages-as-part-of-his-peace-plan/
