On September 30, 2025, a swirl of political tension and diplomatic maneuvering gripped Washington and the Middle East as former President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping 20-point Gaza peace plan, setting off a cascade of reactions from global leaders, Palestinian factions, and ordinary citizens caught in the crossfire of war. The plan, revealed just a day earlier alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was quickly propelled to the center of international attention and controversy. As Trump prepared to address senior military officials in Quantico, Virginia, he made it clear that the clock was ticking for Hamas, the militant group controlling Gaza, to accept or reject the proposal.
"Hamas has about three or four days to agree to this plan, or pay in hell," Trump told reporters before departing the White House, according to The Times of Israel. He emphasized the urgency of the decision, noting, "Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it’s not, it’s going to be a very sad end." When pressed about the possibility for negotiation, Trump was blunt: "Not much." He added, "We have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don’t sign. I hope they sign for their own good and create something really great."
The peace plan itself is as ambitious as it is contentious. At its core, it demands the immediate release of all 48 hostages held in Gaza—roughly 20 of whom are believed to be alive—within a tight 72-hour window. In exchange, Israel would release 250 prisoners serving life sentences, 1,700 Gazans detained after the October 7, 2023, attacks (including all women and children), and the bodies of deceased Gazans at a ratio of 15 for every Israeli hostage released. The plan promises a rapid influx of humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged enclave, but only after the hostages are freed and Hamas agrees to demilitarize the territory.
Hamas members willing to lay down their arms would be granted amnesty, a move Trump’s team describes as a path to reconciliation and stability. The Strip would then be handed over to a transitional government of Palestinian technocrats, overseen by an international advisory board chaired by Trump himself and joined by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. A temporary international security force would be deployed to maintain order, gradually replacing Israeli Defense Forces as they withdraw. The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, would be required to undergo long-demanded reforms, with the ultimate—though open-ended—goal of creating a "credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood."
The plan, however, pointedly avoids setting a timeline for Palestinian statehood, a detail that has drawn fierce criticism from various quarters. Netanyahu, while accepting the plan, has firmly rejected the idea of establishing a Palestinian state or fully withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza—a stance that has fueled skepticism on both sides of the divide.
Internationally, the proposal has garnered a surprising degree of support from key Arab and Muslim nations. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt all welcomed the initiative, signaling a rare moment of alignment in the region’s fractured diplomatic landscape. Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, was dispatched to Doha by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to participate in high-stakes talks with Hamas, underscoring Ankara’s growing role as a mediator. Qatar, for its part, announced it would hold discussions with Hamas and Turkey to further examine the plan, with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani telling Al Jazeera that while the plan’s call for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza required "clarification and discussion," the aim of ending the war was "a clear clause in the plan." He added, "The plan is in its early stages and needs development. We are trying to create a path that safeguards Palestinian rights."
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres weighed in as well, urging all parties to commit to an agreement and its implementation. "It is now crucial that all parties commit to an agreement and its implementation… He once again reiterates his call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire," a spokesman for Guterres said Tuesday.
Yet, despite the diplomatic momentum, the plan has met with sharp resistance among Palestinian factions and within Gaza itself. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a smaller militant group cooperating with Hamas during the war, dismissed Trump’s proposal outright. Abu Ali Hassan, a senior PFLP member, told the Sand news agency, "Trump’s plan is a recipe for managing the war and prolonging it, not for its end." He went further, describing it as "a desperate attempt to separate Gaza from the Palestinian territorial entity." The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another powerful faction still holding at least one hostage, issued a scathing statement warning that the plan would only fuel further aggression against Palestinians.
For many ordinary Palestinians in Gaza, the proposal has stirred deep suspicion and resentment. The absence of a clear path to statehood and the creation of a "Board of Peace"—headed by Trump and Blair—to oversee Gaza’s administration, has evoked bitter memories of colonial rule. "They want to impose their own peace," Umm Mohammed, a history teacher sheltering with her family in Gaza City, told the Associated Press. "In fact, this is not a peace plan. It’s a surrender plan. It returns us to times of colonialism." Mahmoud Abu Baker, displaced from Rafah, echoed this sentiment: "(The proposal) tells that we, as Palestinians, as Arabs, are not qualified to rule ourselves and that they, the white people, will rule us." In the West Bank, some Palestinians accused Netanyahu and Trump of sidelining local voices. "It turned into a joke. They acted like they own the whole world, deciding, analyzing, and dividing things however they want," said Mohammad Shahin of Nablus.
On the Israeli side, reactions were mixed but tinged with skepticism. At a memorial for the music festival where 364 people were killed during the October 7 Hamas attacks, some Israelis expressed doubt that the plan would bring lasting peace. Amit Zander, whose daughter Noa was killed at the festival, told The Times of Israel, "Everyone pins their hopes on (Trump) … it’s up to Hamas. Israel wants it, and beyond that, it’s no longer in our hands." Adi Nissim, another visitor, remarked, "It’s definitely an effort to change something, but there have been efforts the whole time during this whole war, and change hasn’t really happened, so I think it’s all up in the air."
Meanwhile, the political temperature in Washington continued to rise. As the government teetered on the brink of a shutdown, House Democrats lambasted Trump and the GOP for what they called reckless brinkmanship. "It is absurd," a House Democrat declared, slamming the former president and his party for bringing the government to the edge of crisis. Secretary Hegseth, addressing military leaders, called for urgent reforms to address "decades of decay" in the U.S. armed forces—a reminder that domestic challenges were never far from the headlines.
Complicating matters further, a new poll reported by NBC News on September 30 revealed that a majority of Americans now oppose both economic and military support to Israel, signaling a potential shift in public sentiment that could influence U.S. policy going forward.
As the world waits for Hamas’s response and regional actors circle the negotiating table, the fate of Trump’s peace plan—and the future of Gaza—hangs in the balance. The coming days will test not only the resolve of leaders but also the hopes and fears of millions longing for peace, justice, and a voice in their own destiny.