US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he believed Hamas was ready for peace and told Israel to stop bombing Gaza, after the Palestinian group declared it was ready to free captives under his ceasefire plan.
"Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!" Trump posted on his Truth Social network.
Earlier on Friday evening, Hamas said it was willing to release all Israeli captives under Trump's controversial Gaza peace plan, and signalled readiness to discuss further details of the plan.
However, it also said that aspects of the plan related to Gaza's future and the rights of the Palestinian people must be resolved through a Palestinian national framework and international laws and resolutions.
Trump had given Hamas a deadline of Sunday 18:00 Washington DC time to accept his Gaza peace plan outlined on Monday, or face "all hell".
Israeli bombing however continued across the Gaza Strip. Al-Jazeera reported on Friday evening that at least 72 people had been killed across the territory, 42 of them in Gaza City.
Palestinians have been trapped in several Gaza City neighbourhoods which have come under intense assault, as the deadline of Trump's Gaza peace plan approaches.
Attacks on Gaza City have seen helicopter and drone fire on the Sabra neighbourhood, while remotely controlled armoured vehicles detonated in the Nassr neighbourhood, destroying homes, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Elsewhere, Israeli attacks on the al-Mawasi killed a girl and injured several others, the agency reported, while Al Jazeera said that three people were killed in a strike on their vehicle in Khan Younis.