Hamas agreeing to free the remaining hostages, although subject to talks and specific conditions being met, provides real hope to the relatives in the Israeli state who have been desperate for this kind of development for a very long time
In its official communication responding to the US ceasefire initiative, the organization expressed willingness to "release all Israel's prisoners, both alive and deceased, in line with the swap formula contained in President Donald Trump's plan, provided the field circumstances for the exchange are met"
That formula, detailed by Trump at the White House earlier this week, proposes an swift end to the hostilities and the release within 72 hours of all surviving Israeli captives detained by Hamas – as well as the remains of hostages believed to be dead – in exchange for a large number of detained Palestinian people
There are believed to be 48 hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory by the militant faction, only twenty of whom are considered to be alive
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The acceptance by Hamas of an additional essential part of the American peace proposal, the idea of handing over the administration of the Gaza Strip to local experts, is also clearly significant
But there are plenty of additional aspects of the lengthy, twenty-part proposal that are conspicuous by their absence
The most prominent of these is the requirement that the organization lay down its arms
"It marks a big day", Trump remarked of Hamas response to truce agreement
The Israeli government will now be poring over the language of the statement to determine the underlying meaning
It will have to determine whether it views this as a sincere trustworthy acceptance of several of the key points of the agreement, or merely an effort to delay and resume long drawn out discussions
Considering that it was issued just a short time after the US leader issued his last demand for the faction to agree by the weekend deadline or confront "all hell", some members of the Israeli premier's cabinet are expected to be deeply doubtful
That is particularly the case now the American leader has called on the Israeli state to without delay halt the airstrikes of Gaza
"Based on the Communication just issued by Hamas, I am convinced they are prepared for a enduring PEACE", President Trump stated shortly after the Hamas statement was published
"Israel must promptly cease the bombing of the region, so that we can get the Captives out without harm and quickly", he added. "Right now, it's extremely dangerous to do that"
The Israelis will be displeased by the last section of his statement implying that Hamas would keep a role in negotiations over the long term future of the coastal enclave
The group's response is significant, undoubtedly. In a video message broadcast on Friday evening, Trump declared it was a "big day" and thanked a series of countries which he claimed had assisted him put the initiative together
But there is still a substantial amount of detail to be resolved before a truce in the region becomes anything like a reality. And the US leader seemed to recognize this was far from a done deal
"We'll see how it everything unfolds", he commented. "It is necessary to get the definitive terms in place and firmly established"
