The New York Times Live Updated Oct. 3, 2025, 5:11 p.m. ET3 minutes ago Live Updates: Hamas Says It Will Release Hostages as ‘Conditions’ Are Met The militant group responded to a proposal by President Trump to end the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. It was not clear if its conditions would satisfy the White House or Israel.

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Oct. 3, 2025, 5:11 p.m. ET3 minutes ago

Live Updates: Hamas Says It Will Release Hostages as ‘Conditions’ Are Met

The militant group responded to a proposal by President Trump to end the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. It was not clear if its conditions would satisfy the White House or Israel.

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ImageProtesters carrying large signs with pictures of hostages. 

Credit...Amit Elkayam for The New York Times

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Liam Stack

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Oct. 3, 2025, 5:11 p.m. ET3 minutes ago

Liam StackReporting from Tel Aviv

Here’s the latest.

Hamas said on Friday that it had agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza as well as the bodies of those who had died, but made clear it wanted to negotiate other elements of the plan proposed by President Trump earlier this week.

Hamas was ambiguous in its response and did not address specific issues, making it unclear whether it would satisfy Israel and the White House. Mr. Trump has positioned the plan as an ultimatum.

“In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss these details,” the group added.

The White House did not have an immediate response to Hamas’s statement on Friday afternoon.

The language in the statement left open some questions. In a statement posted online on Friday night, the armed group said it would release the hostages “according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal, and as the field conditions for the exchange are met.” But it was not clear what exactly Hamas meant by field conditions.

The statement said the group agreed “to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.”

It was not clear from that language if Hamas had agreed to a stipulation in the proposal that called for the group to be barred from exercising political power in Gaza in the future, or if it saw a place for itself or its members among that body of technocrats.

The statement also did not address key elements of the American proposal that called on the group to give up its arms, which has been a major demand of Israel. And Hamas did not respond to the offer of amnesty to its members who commit to coexistence.

But the statement on Friday did make it clear that Hamas wants to play a role in the discussion of the future of the Palestinian people.

In the statement, Hamas said it wanted there be a debate among Palestinians over issues “relating to the future of the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people.” And it said “Hamas will be a part” of that discussion and “will contribute responsibly” to it.

Here’s what else to know.

Trump threat: Hamas’s statement was released hours after Mr. Trump set a Sunday deadline for leaders of the militant group to agree to a cease-fire proposal he released after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday. Mr. Trump’s missive, delivered in a 300-word post on social media, instructed innocent Palestinians to flee for “safer parts” of the territory. Read more ›

Hamas caution: Hamas officials who had been studying Mr. Trump’s 20-point proposal said on Thursday that they would not accept being told to “take it or leave it,” a senior political member of the group said. Hamas has found itself in a difficult position, compelled to respond to a plan that has divided its supporters. Read more ›

Two-year war: The war in Gaza began after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and 250 more taken hostage. Since then, the Israeli military response has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, including both civilians and combatants, according to the Gaza health ministry, and destroyed the territory’s infrastructure.

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Natan Odenheimer

Oct. 3, 2025, 5:06 p.m. ET8 minutes ago

Natan Odenheimer

Herut Nimrodi, whose son Tamir Nimrodi — an Israeli soldier — has been held by Hamas in Gaza for nearly two years, said it’s too soon to celebrate, even though the armed Palestinian group has said that it is willing to release all the hostages. “They’ve said in the past that they agree to something that’s unacceptable to Israel,” she said. “But the State of Israel should also understand that this is an opportunity it should not miss.” She added that alongside hope there is anxiety over her son’s fate: “I’m worried about the unanswered questions regarding his situation.”

Pranav Baskar

Oct. 3, 2025, 4:54 p.m. ET20 minutes ago

Pranav Baskar

President Trump did not immediately comment on Hamas’s response to his peace plan, but his first public response was to post an English-language copy of Hamas’s statement to TruthSocial.

Adam Rasgon

Oct. 3, 2025, 4:54 p.m. ET20 minutes ago

Adam RasgonReporting from Tel Aviv

Hamas’s statement did not directly address the demand in President Trump’s plan that it disarm as a part of the end of the war in Gaza. It appeared to postpone announcing a decision on the future of its weapons, saying that “other issues related to the future of Gaza and the Palestinian people’s authentic rights” would be “discussed in an inclusive Palestinian national framework that will include Hamas.”

Katie Rogers

Oct. 3, 2025, 4:53 p.m. ET21 minutes ago

Katie RogersReporting from Washington

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, posted a photo of Trump apparently taping a response to Hamas from behind his desk in the Oval Office. “Stay tuned!” she wrote.

Adam Rasgon

Oct. 3, 2025, 4:42 p.m. ET32 minutes ago

Adam RasgonReporting from Tel Aviv

Hamas’s statement saying it was willing to free the remaining hostages in Gaza illustrates that it was prioritizing ending the nearly two-year-old war, according to Ibrahim Madhoun, a Palestinian analyst who is close to Hamas’s leadership. The decision, he said, also underscored Hamas was trying to build “goodwill” with President Trump and the Arab world, which have called on the militant group to release the hostages.

Katie Rogers

Oct. 3, 2025, 4:30 p.m. ET44 minutes ago

Katie RogersReporting from Washington

On Friday evening, hours after President Trump issued a Sunday evening deadline for Hamas to agree to his peace plan, the White House did not have an immediate comment on the statement released by the Palestinian group. This suggests American officials are closely reviewing what’s in it.

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Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times

Pranav Baskar

Oct. 3, 2025, 4:21 p.m. ET52 minutes ago

Pranav Baskar

Pushpa Joshi, 18, the sister of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali foreign student who has been held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, said the announcement the group was willing to release the hostages had filled her with hope.  “I thank God, and I’m so happy,” she said. “I really hope that the Israeli government will also approve it, and finally I will be able to see my brother.” She said she also was “really hopeful that President Donald Trump will accept it and bring all the hostages back as soon as possible.”

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Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York Times

Liam Stack

Oct. 3, 2025, 4:14 p.m. ET1 hour ago

Liam StackReporting from Tel Aviv

A statement released by Hamas addresses only some of the conditions of a proposal plan for Gaza released by President Trump. “In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss these details,” the group said. The statement also said the group agreed “to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.”