Donald Trump has said Hamas is ready for a “lasting peace” after the Palestinian militants agreed to release all remaining hostages, as he called on Israel to stop bombing Gaza.
The US leader was responding to a statement by Hamas on Friday in which the group committed to returning all remaining hostages in Gaza, dead and alive.
Hamas also said it wants to engage in negotiations to discuss further details of the president’s peace plan, including handing over “administration of the enclave to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats”.
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1:10
‘This is a very special day’
However, other aspects of the 20-point document, it warned, would require further consultation among Palestinians.
The Hamas statement came after Mr Trump warned he would unleash “all hell” if they did not respond to his peace plan, announced earlier this week, by Sunday.
Following the group’s response, the president said there was now a real chance of peace.
“I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social. “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!
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“Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East.”
In a video later posted on his social media platform, Mr Trump called it a “very special day” and said the end of the war was “very close”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the “first stage” of Mr Trump’s plan, apparently in reference to the release of hostages.
Moshe Emilio Lavi, brother-in-law of Israeli hostage Omri Miran, told Sky News he “can’t wait” to see his family reunited.
“We’ve received necessary guarantees from President Trump and the wider international community and now we have to keep pressuring Hamas to ensure that they abide by the Trump framework, that they disarm and release all the hostages within the 72 hours the framework outlines.
“There should be no buts and no delays, there should be only a yes to President Trump’s vision to end the conflict and bring home all the remaining hostages.”
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Trump’s Sunday deadline threat
Starmer calls for ‘agreement without delay’
Sir Keir Starmer said Hamas’s partial acceptance of the peace plan was a “significant step forwards” and called for an “agreement without delay”.
The prime minister said Mr Trump’s efforts “have brought us closer to peace than ever before” and added: “There is now an opportunity to end the fighting, for the hostages to return home, and for humanitarian aid to reach those who so desperately need it.
“We call on all sides to implement the agreement without delay.”
He went on to say the UK was ready to support further negotiations and work “towards sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said “the release of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza are within reach”, while a spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged “all parties to seize the opportunity”.
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The breakthrough came just hours after Mr Trump had set the Sunday deadline to respond to his proposals, backed by the Arab nations.
The US president and the Israeli prime minister unveiled the peace plan at the White House on Monday.
Israel agreed to the terms, which include an immediate ceasefire; the release of all hostages; Hamas disarming; a guarantee no one will be forced to leave Gaza and a governing “peace panel” including Sir Tony Blair.
And on Friday, a statement from Hamas confirmed “its approval to release all prisoners of the occupation – whether alive or the remains of the deceased – according to the exchange framework included in President Trump’s proposal”.
Israel estimates 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are alive.
Hamas official says group will not disarm ‘before Israeli occupation ends’
The group also said it was ready to engage in negotiations through mediators and it appreciated “Arab, Islamic and international efforts, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump”.
But, Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera news the group would not disarm “before the Israeli occupation ends”.
Hamas acceptance – but with major caveats
By Celine Alkhaldi, Middle East producer
Hamas has issued a carefully worded response to Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal.
The group welcomed international efforts to end the fighting, agreed in principle to the release of all Israeli hostages, and said it is prepared to begin negotiations on the details of an agreement.
It also renewed its commitment to handing over administration of Gaza to a committee of Palestinian technocrats formed by national consensus and backed by Arab and Islamic states.
That position has been consistent for months and was not part of Mr Trump’s plan.
On wider questions, Hamas said decisions must be taken within a comprehensive Palestinian framework, leaving the most sensitive issues for future discussion.
The statement appears to accept parts of Mr Trump’s proposal, but in some areas it does not match its terms.
Hamas made no mention of disarmament, avoided any pledge to withdraw permanently from governing, and linked any hostage deal to a complete Israeli withdrawal.
Taken together, the response shows a willingness to engage on humanitarian and political steps already familiar from past proposals, while deferring the core disputes to a broader Palestinian process.
Hamas does not know where all hostages are
Sky News Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons said the “most important part” of the Hamas response was that it showed a willingness to do a deal.
“The peace plan could have died – Hamas could have rejected it – but it is still alive.”
He said there were still “huge obstacles” which would prevent outright acceptance though.
In spite of a pledge to release hostages, he said Hamas did not entirely know where all of them were – some were even being held by other groups.
Hamas’s support for a new government for Palestine was positive, he said, but the specification in the Hamas response that it should be purely Palestinian and not, as Mr Trump had proposed, a “panel” that included external representatives, would be problematic.
Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.
Warning: This article contains images of a sexual nature that some readers may find offensive.
An initial tranche of 19 photos was shared on Friday, and all of the people whose faces had not been redacted were identified by Sky News. They have been contacted for comment.
A second batch of dozens of photos was released the same day, including one of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and another of Epstein himself in the bath.
Image: Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Jeffrey Epstein in the bath. Pic: @OversightDems
The photos were shared by House Oversight Committee Democrats, who said they are reviewing more than 95,000 images from the estate.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured in the images released on Friday and the context surrounding the photos is not known.
Mr Barak told the New York Times this week: “I now deeply regret having any association with him.
“However, not any point in my dealings with him I did ever witness any improper behaviour and certainly I never participated in anything like that.”
In one image, Mr Trump is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.
Image: Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve. Pic: @OversightDems
Two further photos show the US president with women whose faces are redacted.
One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.
Image: Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.
When asked about the latest release of Epstein material at the White House on Friday, Mr Trump said he “knows nothing about it” and that the disgraced financier “has photos with everybody”.
Image: Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.
In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.
Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Mr Bannon appeared again in the later batch of images, photographed alongside Noam Chomsky, an American professor perhaps best known for his political activism.
Image: American professor Noam Chomsky and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four photos; two of them taken with Epstein.
Image: Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
In another, Allen is photographed with Mr Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.
Image: Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.
Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”
Meanwhile, Mr Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.
Image: Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on 18 April 2018. Pic: Reuters
Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.
Mr Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.
Image: Bill Gates and Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
In 2021, the tech billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.
The following year Mr Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”
Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.
Image: Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.
Image: Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
Mr Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.
He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”
Emirati businessman Ahmed bin Sulayem is also among those pictured, appearing twice in the second cache of photos.
Image: A picture of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem released from the Epstein files. Pic: @OversightDems
A number of images of a sexual nature appear in the first cache.
One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.
Many of the newer batch of photos appear to show parts of Epstein’s properties, including a toilet, various service areas, and a small beachfront construction project.
Among the photos are several additional images which are thought to be from the disgraced financier’s private island, Little Saint James, showing a dental suite previously seen in an earlier release of pictures.
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
The images, obtained from the Epstein estate, were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in a bid to pressure the US Justice Department to release the full Epstein files.
President Trump signed a bill in November compelling the department to release case files within 30 days, in a U-turn after he opposed the bill for months. The end of that window is Friday 19 December.
The images released on Friday were described by Democrats as being “of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.
A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.
“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.
Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.
This article contains images of a sexual nature that some people may find offensive.
Sky News has identified all of the people whose faces have not been redacted in the images. They have been contacted for comment.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured and the context surrounding the 19 photos is not known.
In one image, the US president is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.
Image: Donald Trump, Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Two further photos show Mr Trump with women whose faces are redacted.
One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.
Image: Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.
Image: Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.
In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.
Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four of the photos; two of them taken with Epstein.
Image: Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
In another, Allen is photographed with Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.
Image: Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.
Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”
Meanwhile, Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.
Image: Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on April 18, 2018. Pic: Reuters
Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.
Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.
Image: Bill Gates and Epstein’s longtime pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
In 2021, the billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.
A year later, Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”
Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.
Image: Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.
Image: Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.
He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”
A number of images of a sexual nature also appear in the cache.
One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
The images were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which obtained them from the Epstein estate.
Democrats said the files included tens of thousands of photos and said more would be released in the coming days.
They were described as “images of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.
A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.
“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.
The man accused of killing right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk has appeared in person at court for the first time.
Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah, is charged with aggravated murder in relation to the shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem.
Image: Charlie Kirk pictured in December 2024. Pic: Reuters
Video of the incident showed Kirk, 31, and a staunch ally of Donald Trump, reaching up with his right hand after a gunshot was heard as blood came out from the left side of his neck. He died shortly after.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
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How the Charlie Kirk shooting unfolded
On Wednesday’s appearance at Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Robinson arrived in court with restraints on his wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks.
According to the Associated Press, he smiled at family members sitting in the front row of the courtroom, where his mother teared up and wiped her eyes with a tissue.
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He made previous court appearances via video or audio feed from jail.
Image: Pic: AP
The shooting happened during Kirk’s “prove me wrong” series, which saw the father of two visit campuses and debate contentious subjects; in this case, he was discussing mass shootings.
Prosecutors say the bullet which struck Kirk’s neck “passed closely to several other individuals”, including the person questioning him as part of the event.
Image: President Trump comforts Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika at his memorial service in Arizona in September. Pic: Reuters
A charging document about Robinson from September includes incriminating texts sent between the alleged shooter and his roommate after Kirk’s death.
Judge Tony Graf also heard arguments on Wednesday about whether cameras and media should be allowed in the courtroom, with Robinson’s lawyers and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office asking for them to be banned.
Mr Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has called for full transparency and said “we deserve to have cameras in there”.
The judge has already made allowances to protect Robinson’s presumption of innocence before a trial, agreeing that the case has drawn “extraordinary” public attention