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Hamas agreeing to free the outstanding hostages, albeit dependent on talks and certain conditions being met, provides genuine hope to the relatives in Israel who have been desperate for this type of development for a very long time

In its statement responding to the American peace initiative, the group agreed to "release all Israeli prisoners, both living and deceased, in line with the swap formula outlined in the US President's proposal, provided the field circumstances for the exchange are met"

That formula, detailed by Trump at the US capital earlier this week, proposes an immediate end to the hostilities and the release within three days of all living Israeli captives detained by the group – as well as the bodies of hostages believed to be no longer alive – in return for hundreds of detained Palestinians

There are believed to be forty-eight captives still being kept in the Gaza Strip by the militant faction, only 20 of whom are considered to be alive

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The endorsement by the faction of an additional essential part of the American ceasefire plan, the idea of handing over the governance of Gaza to local experts, is also clearly significant

But there are plenty of additional elements of the comprehensive, twenty-part proposal that are conspicuous by their absence

The most prominent of those is the requirement that Hamas surrender its arms

"It marks a major day", Trump remarked of Hamas reply to peace deal

The Israel's leadership will now be poring over the wording of the announcement to determine the underlying meaning

It will have to decide whether it views this as a genuine good faith approval of some of the key points of the agreement, or merely an attempt to delay and resume long drawn out discussions

Given that it was issued just a few hours after the US leader delivered his final demand for the faction to agree by Sunday evening or confront "serious consequences", some members of the Israeli premier's cabinet are expected to be highly doubtful

That is particularly true now the American leader has urged the Israeli state to immediately halt the bombing of the territory

"In light of the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are prepared for a enduring PEACE", President Trump stated soon after the Hamas statement was published

"Israel must immediately cease the military strikes of the region, so that we can get the Hostages out without harm and swiftly", he said. "Right now, it's far too dangerous to do that"

The Israelis will not like the final section of his announcement suggesting that Hamas would retain a participation in negotiations over the long term future of Gaza

The group's response is significant, no doubt. In a recorded address broadcast later on Friday, Trump declared it was a "big day" and thanked a number of nations which he claimed had helped him develop the proposal forward

But there is still a substantial amount of specifics to be resolved before a truce in the region becomes anything like a reality. And the president appeared to acknowledge this was not a final agreement

"It remains to be seen how it all unfolds", he said. "It is necessary to get the definitive terms in place and concrete"