Widespread international support not enough to get peace deal over the linepublished at 12:23 BST 30 September

12:23 BST 30 September

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

International support for the Trump Gaza peace plan is widespread.

Crucial to that is the joint statement by eight Arab and Muslim majority countries.

World leaders would want nothing better than an end to the fighting, not just for the sake of Palestinians in Gaza, but also the positive consequences for the wider Middle East – more trade, security and technology.

But history tells us international support and pressure – largely from the United States – is never enough to get a peace deal over the line in the region.

Diplomats often say ceasefires and peace settlements are processes, not one-off events. And that requires sustained nurturing and leverage to keep all sides on the straight and narrow.

That means both Israel’s government and Hamas’s leadership need to conclude their aims are better served by ending the conflict – and need to continue holding that opinion. That is not a given. Nor is continued US focus.

Donald Trump is not known for his strategic patience. Even if a deal were agreed, it would have to last and not unravel in the weeds of as yet unagreed details.

Hamas is reviewing a Gaza peace plan proposed by US President Trump - and supported by Israeli PM Netanyahu - on Monday.

We've just heard from Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, who says that "the (Hamas) negotiating delegation promised to study it responsibly".

Majed al-Ansari also says Qatar is set to hold talks with Hamas negotiators and Turkish officials later today to discuss the plan.

Image source, Reuters

Palestinians in the West Bank have been reacting to the White House peace plan, with a focus on the issue of Palestinian statehood.

Trump's 20-point proposal leaves the door open to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Clause 19 of the plan says "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood" once Gaza's redevelopment and reform of the Palestinian Authority has taken place.

But Netanyahu says Israel will continue to "forcibly resist" the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

For Ibrahim Arafat, the plan "abolishes the Palestinian state".

He tells the Reuters news agency: "All the principles for the liberation of Palestine were cancelled yesterday. For me, this is a new colonialism."

Image source, Reuters

Nasr Al-Husseini tells Reuters: "I'm surprised, even before Trump and Netanyahu's meeting, that now more than 150 countries have recognised the Palestinian right, the Palestinian right to exist, yet unfortunately yesterday's meeting did not address the Palestinian issue at all."

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile, Sadeq Kamil underlines that people want "actions" over words.

"People don't want illusions or ink on paper, people want actions, they only speak about help, but we don't see anything in real life."

Forty-eight hostages are still being held by Hamas - 20 of whom are still believed to be alive.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar referenced them during his press conference earlier - thanking the Serbian foreign minister as he did so for his "loud and clear voice" fighting for their release.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frequently spoken about getting the hostages home. In his speech to the UN last week, he addressed them directly saying "We have not forgotten you."

However, he has been criticised by the families of those being held for not doing enough to get them released.

On October 7 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

The peace plan announced yesterday demands the release within 72 hours of 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas as well as the remains of those believed to be dead - in exchange for hundreds of detained Palestinians, and the remains of other Gazans.

Image source, Reuters

"Well it's progress but we're kind of in limbo," says Yehuda Cohen, father of Nimrod Cohen, a 20-year-old Israeli hostage who was taken into Gaza on 7 October. He is believed to be alive.

Reacting to the 20-point plan Trump plan, he tells the BBC World Service's Newshour that he's measuring his expectations.

He describes the situation right now as: '"Kind of, 'out of hell, but let's see if we'll go into heaven'". Cohen explains that progress depends on whether "Hamas will accept it [the deal]" and "if Netanyahu could pull it through with his current government, which is very right extreme".

Cohen sees the US president as very influential on the Israeli prime minister: "Between the smiles and the hugging, Trump actually forced this deal on Netanyahu."

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

I've been speaking to contacts in Gaza about their reactions to Trump's plan.

Twenty-three-year-old Esraa says she couldn’t sleep after hearing the news last night.

"I thought it meant there was going to be a ceasefire right away, but then I realised it's just a proposal," she says over the phone.

Esraa says she believes the plan "serves Israel's interests" but that people in Gaza are split between "wanting the war to end now at any price" and fearing that the situation will only worsen if it is enacted.

In southern Gaza, mother of four Doaa tells me she feels there is no choice but to support the plan.

"Despite its injustice to our people, we just want to stop the war," she says over WhatsApp.

"We are suffering a lot and there is no chance of survival except by agreeing, no matter the circumstances, because we are being exterminated."

Image source, AP

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who has been visiting Belgrade for talks with his Serbian opposite number, and has commented on the Trump plan.

At the news conference we mentioned earlier, he says Israel has always wanted an end to the war – but he blames Hamas, claiming the group has been blocking that until now. Will Hamas accept the plan and abide by it? Sa'ar asks. "We shall see," he adds.

Israel, he says, wants all its remaining hostages home and a different Gaza - de-radicalised, demilitarised and no longer a threat to Israel.

• For context: Israel resumed its offensive against Hamas on 18 March following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire
• The Israeli military initially launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 66,055 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry

Image source, Benjamin Netanyahu/Telegram

We can now bring you more of Netanyahu's latest remarks from a video he shared on his Telegram account following his White House visit.

The Israeli prime minister takes aim at detractors trying to pressure him into withdrawing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from Gaza - saying "it's not happening".

"They keep saying, 'You must accept Hamas’ conditions. Take them all out. The IDF needs to get out and Hamas can recover and can even rehabilitate the Strip," he says.

"It’s not happening."

Netanyahu adds that President Trump pledged his full support to Israel should Hamas reject his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza.

"Complete the military operation to eliminate Hamas. And so I think from every side it was an excellent visit," Netanyahu says.

A separate post from Netanyahu on social media this morning shares a White House video of clips of him and President Trump yesterday. At the start of the video, the Israeli prime minister is seen writing a note in a book reading: "To President Donald Trump, [Unquestionably] the greatest friend Israel has even had in the White House - by a long shot!"

We can now bring you some reaction in Israel to Trump's proposal for peace in Gaza.

Erez Goldman, an attorney in Jerusalem, calls the announcement a "great day for Israel".

Upon reading the agreement, he says, he was "really, really happy" because it was the first time he didn't see anything that he didn't agree with.

"The only question is now if Hamas will approve and end this misery that we are in for almost two years," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Joseph Scutts says that, whilst not confident in Hamas, they are "going to have to take this deal".

"Am I optimistic about them? No," he tells reporters, adding that "when push comes to shove...it’s do or die, you know?".

Image source, Reuters

Susan Kennedy, however, says the deal - whilst welcome - has come too late.

"I think we've done it way, way, way too late with far too many deaths on both sides, our soldiers, our hostages, and the Gazan people. But I think it's a great move," Susan says.

Image source, Reuters

Footage has been coming in of displaced Palestinians in central Gaza reacting to the Trump plan.

One man says the plan favours Israel and President Trump himself, who he adds wants to turn Gaza into one of his resorts. Meanwhile, he complains, the world is standing by while Palestinians are being slaughtered.

Who is going to speak up for us? asks another man, who argues the Palestinians are nowhere "in this equation".

Another Palestinian warns that if all the remaining Israeli hostages are released while Israel continues to occupy Gaza, "then we are finished, we are completely done, we will have no life left".

We'll shortly be hearing from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who's currently on a visit to Serbia.

We'll be bringing you the top lines from his press conference - you can also follow along by ticking Watch Live at the top of the page.

Image source, PA Media

The Palestinian Authority "welcomes the sincere and determined efforts" of US President Trump to end the war in Gaza in a statement published by the Wafa news agency.

The statement affirms its commitment "to work with the US, regional states and partners" to end the war through a "comprehensive agreement" that ensures "sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza" and "the release of hostages and prisoners".

The statement also says the authority is committed to holding new elections within a year of the war's end and forming a new security force.

"We have affirmed our desire for a modern, democratic, and non-militarised Palestinian state, committed to pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power," the statement says.

The Palestinian Authority, under President Mahmoud Abbas, is the internationally recognised body which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

As we've been reporting, Netanyahu says Israel will continue to oppose the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Trump's 20-point proposal, however, leaves the door open to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Clause 19 of the plan reads: "While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA [Palestinian Authority] reform programme is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people."

Last week, the UK, Australia, Canada and France were among a swathe of countries that formally recognised a Palestinian state.

With British and French recognition, the idea of a such an entity enjoys the support of four of the UN Security Council's five permanent members. China and Russia both recognised a Palestinian state in 1988.

This leaves the US, Israel's strongest ally, as the sole permanent security council member that does not.

With the world focused on Trump's new peace plan, the Israeli military has continued striking Gaza.

The images below were taken this morning and show large plumes of smoke rising from Gaza City. The Israeli military today said "precise strikes" were carried out in the area yesterday, while the country's air force hit more than 160 targets throughout Gaza.

Gaza City has been the focus of a new Israeli operation - announced by Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of August.

Israeli evacuation orders have since told those in Gaza City to leave, while a number of high-rise buildings in the area have collapsed as a result of strikes.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Trump's Gaza plan is a significant step - but faces fundamental obstaclespublished at 09:38 BST 30 September

09:38 BST 30 September

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump said his plan for ending the war in Gaza was potentially one of the greatest days in the history of civilisation, and one that could bring "eternal peace in the Middle East".

Whether it can become a reality in the coming weeks will depend heavily on the same issues that have always been fundamental: whether both Netanyahu and the leadership of Hamas now see greater gains in ending the war than in continuing it.

Hamas' response to this proposal is not yet clear. A pessimistic assessment came from one Hamas figure, who earlier hinted to the BBC that the terms largely failed to safeguard Palestinian interests and the group would not accept any plan that did not guarantee Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.

The plan then envisages the establishment of a local, technocratic administration in Gaza to run day-to-day services, overseen by the "Board of Peace" based in Egypt.

As my colleague Rushdi Abualouf wrote earlier, this could be another "Yes, but" moment in which Hamas appears to accept the proposals while also calling for clarifications.

• You can read more of Tom Bateman's analysis on the BBC News website

Image source, Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there had been no agreement to recognise Palestinian statehood during his meeting with Donald Trump.

In a video posted on his Telegram, Netanyahu is asked whether he has "agreed to a Palestinian state", to which he replied: "No, absolutely not."

He says there is no such clause in the 20-point plan Trump has tabled, adding that Israel will "forcibly resist" statehood.

• For context: the 20-point peace plan says once Gaza redevelopment and reform of the Palestinian Authority takes place "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood".

Image source, EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

"The EU stands ready to contribute" to Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Sharing her reaction to the 20-point plan announced by the US president last night on X, "encourage all parties to now seize this opportunity" she says.

Calling for "immediate humanitarian relief" to those in Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages, she also reiterates the EU's demand for a two-state solution as "the only viable path to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East".

As the world waits for Hamas to give its response to the Trump proposal, the Israeli army released its latest update, saying it continues to operate against "terrorist organisations" across Gaza.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says "precise strikes" in Gaza City yesterday killed the head of a Hamas cell, while the air force hit more than 160 targets throughout Gaza, including terrorists and weapons storage facilities.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defence says a total of 13 people were killed in the Israeli attacks.

Image source, Reuters

• The Palestinian Authority, in a statement published by its Wafa news agency, said it "renews its joint commitment to work with the United States, regional states, and partners"
• While giving his backing to the plan in a press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also reinstated his opposition to a Palestinian state - saying "it's not written in the agreement"
• Foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan jointly welcomed Trump’s "leadership and his sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza"
• A number of European officials also reacted - including European Council President Antonio Costa who said he was "encouraged by Prime Minister Netanyahu's positive response" to the proposal
• UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "We call on all sides to come together and to work with the US Administration to finalise this agreement and bring it into reality" while French President Emmanuel Macron said: "France stands ready to contribute" and will remain "vigilant" to the obligations on each side
• Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said "it is time for the violence to cease, for the immediate release of all hostages and for humanitarian access for the civilian population" adding a two-state solution "is the only possible one". While Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the proposal could "represent a turning point"

Some of the key proposals are:

• An immediate cessation of military operations

• The release within 72 hours of 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the remains of more than two dozen believed to be dead
• Hundreds of detained Palestinians, and the remains of other Gazans, to be released by Israel
• Hamas to lay down its arms and to have no role in governing Gaza

• Once sides agree to the proposal, "full aid" to be "immediately sent into the Gaza Strip"
• Future governance of the Strip by a "technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee" with oversight by an international "Board of Peace" headed by Trump and including former UK PM Tony Blair and other leaders
• The plan leaves the door open for a future Palestinian state - although Netanyahu again ruled this out on Monday

You can read Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan in full here.