Not an end to the war, but a basis for restoring negotiationspublished at 00:03 BST 30 September

00:03 BST 30 September

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Trump's 20-point plan for peace is not a detailed proposal for how to end the war and implement post-war governance for Gaza.

It is a framework, or "principles" as he put it, for further mediated negotiations. It's an all-in-one deal, calling for hostages and prisoners to be freed, partial Israeli troop withdrawals and then a governance and security mechanism for Gaza.

The outline is characteristically colourful, making Trump himself the chairman of the "Board of Peace" - he would effectively be the governor of Gaza.

But the substantial point of today was for Trump to get Netanyahu to agree to these principles while standing next to him at the White House.

We've heard that Israel is on board, and now it’s over to Hamas, whose officials, according to sources speaking to the BBC, hadn't seen a copy of the proposal until Monday evening.

The framework is a shift by the Trump administration, closer to the position the Arab and European countries want - most notably these plans ditch Trump's Gaza "Riviera" plan that he announced standing next to Netanyahu in the White House in February - which would have meant the expulsion of Palestinians that Israel's far-right longs for.

It is also vague enough on the idea of Palestinian self-determination for the Arab nations and Netanyahu to be willing to support, though Israel's far-right will complain.

But in many parts, the plan lacks clarity - some clauses are only a single sentence long - in exactly the areas where Israel and Hamas would argue over terms.

Hamas may now be pressured by Qatar and other Arab countries to accept the principles. But then the real negotiations have to be done.

In that sense, this latest development it is not an end to the war, but a basis for restoring negotiations.

• We are ending our live coverage of this proposed peace deal now, but you can keep up with the latest updates here: Trump and Netanyahu agree new US peace plan for Gaza

The Palestinian Authority, which governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has reacted to Trump's proposed peace plan, calling the US president's efforts as "sincere and determined" in a statement published by its WAFA news agency.

The authority "renews its joint commitment to work with the United States, regional states, and partners to end the war on Gaza through a comprehensive agreement that ensures the sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the release of hostages and prisoners, the establishment of mechanisms to protect the Palestinian people," the statement adds.

The statement says the authority is committed to holding new parliamentary and presidential elections within a year of the war's end, changing school curriculum, 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.

We can bring you more international reaction to US President Donald Trump's proposed Gaza peace plan that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is supportive of the plan, and calls on all sides, including Hamas, to "agree to the plan and end the misery, by laying down their arms and releasing all remaining hostages".

French president Emmanuel Macron has praised the proposal, saying "France stands ready to contribute" to the efforts to end the war and release hostages.

"These elements must pave the way for in-depth discussions with all relevant partners to build a lasting peace in the region, based on the two-state solution," he says.

European Council President Antonio Costa says he is "encouraged by Prime Minister Netanyahu's positive response," to the proposal. He says "all parties must seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance".

Image source, Getty Images

With Trump and Netanyahu today discussing a potential end to the war in Gaza, which has been going on for nearly two years, let's take a look at the latest situation on the ground.

On Saturday, more than 35 people were killed in Israeli strikes and gunfire, hospital sources in Gaza said.

A strike on a house in central Gaza left at least 11 people dead - more that half of them women and children - according to officials at al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City.

Health workers said nine members of the same family were among those killed in an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp, and at least six people are reported to have been killed while seeking aid in central and southern Gaza.

The Israeli air force said on Saturday it had hit approximately 120 targets across the Strip since Friday - including, the military says, "buildings used by terror groups, terror operatives and other infrastructure".

It is clear there has been no let up in Israel's recent expanded ground offensive against Hamas, which is now mainly focused on Gaza City, where Israel says is the last stronghold of the armed group.

Hundreds of thousands of residents have fled the territory's biggest urban centre, where a famine was confirmed last month by a UN-backed body. But hundreds of thousands more remain there in dire humanitarian conditions, with health and other essential services collapsing.

The Israeli military 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 65,549 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

As a reminder, International journalists have been banned by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip independently since the start of the war nearly two years ago, making verifying claims from both sides difficult.

Grace Eliza Goodwin
Live reporter

Now that Trump has unveiled his 20-point peace plan and Netanyahu has agreed to it, it is now up to Hamas to agree to the proposal or not, says Middle East foreign policy expert John Hannah.

Hannah tells the BBC he is "pessimistic" that Hamas will take the deal.

"I expect [Hamas's] reaction to be some version of either 'yes, but, but, but...' or 'no, this has got to go through serious changes before we can take it seriously,'" says Hannah, who served as former US Vice-President Dick Cheney’s National Security Adviser and Deputy National Security Adviser for the Middle East.

Hannah says he expects Hamas to take issue with a few key points included in the plan, like the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the release of the remaining Israeli hostages within just 72 hours, and an international force coming into Gaza to take over issues of law and order.

"I think all of that is going to be a very difficult pill for Hamas to get down," Hannah says.

Hannah says he expects Hamas to come back with an answer on this proposal that is "less than satisfactory" to the White House.

To get to an answer he wants, Trump will have to "corral all sides here", Hannah says, especially countries that may be able to help persuade Hamas, such as Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.

A deal will ultimately come down the president's "ability to persuade, to cajole, and certainly to pressure and put the fear of God into all these parties", Hannah adds.

Image source, Reuters

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt have released a joint statement about the plan.

They welcome Trump's "sincere efforts" to end the war, rebuild Gaza and prevent the displacement of the Palestinian people. They also commend Trump's refusal to allow the annexation of the West Bank.

The statement - which is also signed by Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia - says they will engage "constructively" towards finalising an agreement.

The officials say they want to see a "just peace on the basis of the two-state solution", and for Gaza to be fully integrated with the West Bank in a Palestinian state.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

It's been an incredibly busy day at the White House, between Netanyahu's visit and frantic efforts by lawmakers to avoid a partial government shutdown.

A few minutes ago, we also heard from special envoy Steve Witkoff, one of the men most closely connected with the Trump administration's efforts to bring the Gaza war to a close.

According to Witkoff, the initial response to the 20-point plan has been "very positive", although he did not provide many details when asked for more insight into Hamas's response to the proposal so far.

As an example, he pointed to Israel's apology in the earlier call with Qatar and Trump, and its regret over the death of a Qatari citizen during its strike on Doha.

"That's a big moment," Witkoff said. "I thought 'wow'."

We are still hearing reaction on the new peace proposal agreed by Netanyahu and Trump today.

The plan will be a hard sell for some in Israel because it "falls short of the complete [and] total victory" to eliminate Hamas that Netanyahu set out to achieve at the start of the war, says Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces.

The new plan allows for Hamas members to receive amnesty and leave Gaza for third countries after hostages have been freed.

Conricus says the plan "doesn't chart a clear enough path to how exactly Hamas will not exist in the future and won't continue to threaten Israeli civilians."

The future outlined for Hamas members makes the plan "a bit of a challenging sell for the prime minister domestically".

But Conricus says that because there is strong public support in Israel to end the war, it is possible to "packaged and given to the Israeli public".

Hamas squeezed between US proposal and 'final battle' in Gazapublished at 21:52 BST 29 September

21:52 BST 29 September

Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent

Hamas has little room left to manoeuvre, with the offers it rejected over the past two years appearing far more favourable than the current American plan.

A Palestinian official familiar with the Doha talks told the BBC that Hamas had received the proposal through Qatari and Egyptian mediators and promised to review it.

But a senior Hamas figure earlier hinted to the BBC that the terms largely align with Israel’s vision and fail to safeguard Palestinian interests, stressing that the group will not accept any plan that does not end the war and guarantee Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, conditions that Israel flatly rejects.

So Hamas's response may come in the usual form of "yes, but".

Politically, it seems the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, although they survived, has effectively curtailed their influence over the negotiation process.

Militarily, the commander in charge of Hamas in Gaza, Ez al-Din al-Haddad, is preparing for what one Hamas field commander described to the BBC as a "final decisive battle," amassing about 5,000 fighters, he says, including specially-trained units.

Such a battle could result in the destruction of what remains of Hamas military capabilities and what left of Gaza City, with devastating loss of life – not only among Palestinians, but also posing grave risks to the Israeli hostages still held inside the enclave.

The plan represents "progress", says Yehuda Cohen.

His son, Israeli soldier Nimrod Cohen, is among the hostages captured by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks and is believed to be alive in Gaza.

Despite the optimism, "we’re kind of in limbo – kind of 'out of hell but let’s see if we’ll go into heaven'," Yehuda tells the BBC's Paul Henley on Newshour.

He says it is unclear if Hamas will accept the plan, or if Netanyahu will be able to implement it, since the prime minister's governing coalition features hard-line right-wing ministers.

He also describes the deal as imposition by Trump on Netanyahu.

“Between the smiles and the hugging, Trump actually forced this deal on Netanyahu," Yehuda says. "Remember that he forced Netanyahu to apologise to the prime minister of Qatar. Trump is kind of forcing this deal on Netanyahu while he’s hugging him.”

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Gett

We've just received a statement from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair about the peace plan put forward by the Trump administration.

The plan is "bold and intelligent", Blair says.

He adds that it "can end the war, bring immediate relief to Gaza, the chance of a brighter and better future for its people, whilst ensuring Israel’s absolute and enduring security and the release of all hostages."

Blair says that the plan is the "best chance" to end the war after nearly two years.

For context: During the news conference with Netanyahu, Trump said that he would convene a "board of peace" to oversee the plan's implementation and named Blair as a potential member.

Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent

A Palestinian source familiar with the ceasefire negotiations tells the BBC that Hamas officials have been given the White House's 20-point peace proposal.

"Qatari and Egyptian officials have handed over the White House plan to end the war in Gaza to Hamas officials in Doha," the Palestinian source says.

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza thanked President Trump in a letter, following the announcement of his agreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

"We are profoundly grateful to President Trump for his unwavering commitment to our families and the state of Israel, and for achieving what we have been desperately seeking since October 7 – a deal to bring all our loved ones home," wrote the Hostage and Missing Families Forum in a press release.

They called the agreement "historic" and called on Netanyahu to "immediately order a cessation of fighting in Gaza, which continues to endanger the fate of our hostages."

Details of today's proposal remain ambiguouspublished at 21:03 BST 29 September

21:03 BST 29 September

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

What's been published today is a 20-point document of principles, as Trump put it.

What Trump wants is an all-in-one deal that gets all the hostages out.

The point was for the White House to get Netanyahu to stand up and accept these principles, but there is so much wiggle room in some of these clauses. Both Arab and Israeli leaders think this is a deal that works for them, and both can't be true.

There is a lack of clarity in key areas, and there's potential for either side to sabotage it and blame the other.

I spoke to one Arab diplomat last week who said it might be OK - once you have agreed on principles, you can build the plane as you are flying it.

But the end still seems far off to me.

Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent

Hamas says it has not received US ceasefire proposal.

A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group has not received any ceasefire initiative from US President Donald Trump through mediators.

The official said Hamas remained open to studying any proposal that could end the war in Gaza, but stressed that any agreement must safeguard Palestinian interests, ensure a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and bring the war to an end.

Asked about the group’s weapons, the official said: "The weapons of the resistance are a red line as long as the occupation continues.

"The issue of arms can only be discussed within the framework of a political solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders."

Israeli politicians may dislike a number of points in Trump planpublished at 20:47 BST 29 September

20:47 BST 29 September

John Sudworth
Reporting from Jerusalem

Assuming Hamas signs up to this, and that’s still a big if, there will be huge relief in Israel at the prospect of the release of all the remaining hostages.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under fierce criticism from the families of those hostages who see his ground offensive in Gaza not, as he claims, as making their survival more likely but instead further risking their lives.

But beyond that, there is much in the 20-point peace plan that will be a very hard sell for key members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

The Oval Office telephone apology given to the Qatari prime minister, seemingly at the behest of President Trump, has been dismissed by Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Finance Minister, as a “disgrace”.

He and his colleagues on the right of Israeli politics will likely fear that much of what they see in this text has similarly been forced upon Israel under duress.

The decommission of Hamas’s weapons they won’t argue with, but they’ll hate the offer of amnesty to its fighters. They won’t like the prohibition the plan imposes on Israel’s ability to occupy Gaza. They’ll see false equivalence in the idea of changing mindsets and narratives of both Palestinians and Israelis alike in the pursuit of peace. And they’ll hate the pathway to Palestinian statehood contained in point 19.

Large parts of wider Israeli society may share many of those concerns and there will be bewilderment at how far and fast President Trump has shifted, from talking just weeks ago about the full relocation of all Gazans.

But is there also a get-out clause in all of this? If Hamas rejects the deal, Trump has just told the press conference, then Israel will have America’s full backing to do what it needs to do.

And even if it accepts in principle, then there’s the question of good faith and delivery.

Netanyahu may well try to sell this plan, not as a done deal, but as a test – and it is one that he may well believe that Hamas will inevitably fail.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

There was no question and answer session at the end of the Trump-Netanyahu press conference - a rare occurrence at a White House which styles itself as the most transparent in US history.

The only other time I recall a Trump press event that did not include questions was in August after meeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine.

The lack of questions could also be a reflection of the fact that many specifics still need to be figured out before answering queries about what is an extremely complicated plan where many things could potentially go wrong.

One of the primary questions is one that neither Netanyahu or Trump can fully answer themselves: whether Hamas will accept the proposal, or will it reject it and spark new Israeli offensives?

We still could, potentially, hear from Trump later today.

He is still planning to meet with congressional leaders to try avert a partial government shutdown - and while that event is slated to take place behind closed doors, it could open up to today's press pool.

Image source, EPA

"A historic day for peace." President Trump presented his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. Many countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE had input into the plan, he said.

All the hostages would be returned and there would be an immediate end to war, as part of the plan, he said. "Hamas will be disarmed. Gaza will be de-militarised" and Israel would retain a security perimeter. Gaza would have a peaceful civilian administration, he said.

"The threat of Hamas will be destroyed," Trump said referring to the group having no role in Gaza if the plan is agreed to. He added that the Arab and Muslim countries "will be dealing [talking] with Hamas".

A "board of peace", headed up by the US president, will oversee the plan, he said, adding that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to be on the board.

Hamas has not yet agreed to the deal. Trump said it was now up to Hamas to accept the "extremely fair" proposal. Palestinians have had a "rough life" with Hamas, Trump said, but if they do not agree to his plan then they only have themselves to blame.

The plan achieves Israel's war aims, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. They didn't fight this "horrible" fight for Hamas to stay in Gaza, he said.

It can be done the "easy way or hard way", Netanyahu warned, if Hamas rejects the plan.

The two leaders did not take questions.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

The Abraham Accords signed during Trump's first term in 2020 remains a favourite accomplishment of the president.

It's something he mentions often, and he hopes that diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza could ultimately see it expanded to other countries, adding to a list that includes Bahrain, the UAE, Morocco, and Sudan.

Efforts to expand that bloc hit a snag when the war in Gaza began and became more complex as public opinion across the Middle East swung firmly against Israel.

"Israel is not going anywhere," he said. "They're going to co-exist with other people and countries in the region, from Syria to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia."

"The promise of a new Middle East is so clearly within our reach," Trump added.

Image source, Reuters

Moments before Trump and Netanyahu took the stage, the US released details of its proposed peace plan for Gaza.

Israel has agreed to the 20-point plan, but Hamas has not.

The proposal, if followed, would begin with the immediate cessation of military operations. It also says existing "battle lines" would be frozen in place.

Under the plan, Hamas would lay down its arms and its offensive weaponry would be destroyed. It would release 20 living Israeli hostages and the remains of more than two dozen believed to be dead within 72 hours.

Once those hostages are released, the proposal says Israel would release hundreds of detained Gazans.

It also says that once both sides agree to the proposal "full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip".

The US also outlines its plan for the future governance of Gaza. It says a "technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee" will govern temporarily "with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the Board of Peace, which will be headed" by Trump. Former UK PM Tony Blair, and other leaders "to be announced", would also be part of the governing body.

It adds that Hamas must have no role in governance, "directly, indirectly, or in any form".

Much of the plan is focused on what the US calls an "economic development plan" to rebuild Gaza. It also says "Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza" and its forces will withdraw from the territory in stages over time.

The plan also leaves the door open to an eventual Palestinian state.