New Delhi: Hamas's announcement that it is willing to release its remaining hostages in line with Donald Trump's proposal for Gaza marks “decisive progress” towards peace and India ‘welcomes’ the US president's ‘leadership’ in this regard, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We welcome President Trump's leadership as peace efforts in Gaza make decisive progress. Indications of the release of hostages mark a significant step forward,” Modi wrote on X on Saturday (October 4).

He added that India “will continue to strongly support all efforts towards a durable and just peace”.

Modi simultaneously posted the same message on Trump's Truth Social platform, in which he resumed some activity after the president made apparently conciliatory remarks amid trade and tariff tensions between India and the US. Since September 6, the prime minister's posts on the website have spoken of the bilateral relationship or of Trump in a positive light.

Early on Saturday in Indian time, Hamas said in a statement it ‘approved’ releasing the hostages, alive or dead, who remain in its custody “according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump's proposal”.

“In this context,” it added, “the movement [Hamas] affirms its readiness to enter, through the mediators, into negotiations to discuss the details”.

According to Trump's proposal issued alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, once Hamas frees all its hostages Israel is to release “250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after October 7, 2023, including all women and children detained in that context”.

“For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans,” says the proposal.

Trump, who posted Hamas's statement on Truth Social, said he believes the group is “ready for a lasting PEACE” and that Israel must stop its bombardment of the Gaza strip to allow the hostages' release.

He also issued a video statement calling the occasion a “big” and “very special day”, thanking Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and other parties for ‘helping him put this together’.

“We'll see how it all turns out, we have to get the final word down in concrete,” said Trump.

“We were given a tremendous amount of help. Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East. And we're very close to achieving that. Thank you all and everybody will be treated fairly.”

Netanyahu's office said on X on Saturday morning Indian time that Israel in response to Hamas's statement “is preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of President Trump's plan for the immediate release of all the hostages”. However, its communique is no longer available.

Later on Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces said that the country's military chief had issued instructions to “advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages” after receiving “directives from the political echelon”.

Hamas is believed to be holding 48 Israelis hostage in Gaza, around 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

In its statement early Saturday the group had also said it was prepared to “hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats), based on national consensus and with Arab and Islamic support”.

It also insisted that it be part of negotiations concerning Gaza's future and the rights of the Palestinian people.

While Trump's plan proposes that Gaza undergo demilitarisation, Hamas's statement did not mention disarmament.

When the president unveiled his proposal on Monday Modi was quick to hail it as a “viable pathway” towards peace not only for Palestinians and Israelis but for West Asia.

India, he said on X, hoped “all concerned will come together behind President Trump’s initiative and support this effort to end conflict and secure peace”.

The prime minister first tweeted in three languages – English, Hebrew and Arabic, reflecting those spoken in the conflict region. Later in the day, his account carried the same message in Russian, Spanish, Chinese and French, an unusual step since these are not regional tongues but part of the UN’s official languages.

Trump's proposal provides for a transitional administration in Gaza excluding Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, with the United States in a supervisory role.

It pledges reconstruction and humanitarian aid, guarantees no displacement of Gazans and rules out annexation of the West Bank.

Hours before Hamas announced its intention to release its hostages, Trump had threatened the group with “all HELL like no one has ever seen before” if an agreement was not reached by Sunday evening in Washington time.

World leaders react to Hamas's announcement

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Hamas's acceptance of the peace deal was “a significant step forwards” in the effort to end the war in Gaza.

Trump's proposal has “brought us closer to peace than ever before”, Starmer said in a statement, adding: “We call on all sides to implement the agreement without delay.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “peace in Gaza and the release of the hostages are within reach” after Hamas “agreed in principle” to Trump's proposal.

Merz added in posts on X that the plan represented “the best chance for peace” in the conflict and that Germany “fully supports” Trump's “call upon both sides”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that “the release of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza are within reach!”

“Hamas's commitment must be followed up without delay. We now have the opportunity to make decisive progress towards peace. France will play its full part in line with its efforts at the United Nations, alongside the United States, Israelis and Palestinians, and all of its international partners. I would like to thank President Donald Trump and his team for their commitment to peace,” he posted on social media.

A spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry said that Doha “welcomes” Hamas's response.

A statement from Egypt's foreign ministry said Cairo also hopes for “positive development” and said it would “exert all effort with Arab states, the United States and European countries to reach a permanent ceasefire” in the war-torn enclave.

Both Qatar and Egypt are key mediators in negotiations between the US, Israel and Hamas.

With inputs from DW.

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