French president pledges full support for peace efforts after Hamas statement on Trump's Gaza plan

President Emmanuel Macron pledged late Friday that France would fully support international peace efforts following Hamas' statement on US President Donald Trump's ceasefire and hostage deal plan for the Gaza Strip.

“We now have the opportunity to make decisive progress towards peace,” Macron wrote on the US social media company, X.

He vowed that France will “play its full part in line with its efforts” at the UN, alongside the US, Israelis and Palestinians, and global partners.

Macron praised Trump and his team for “their commitment to peace.”

“Hamas' commitment must be followed up without delay,” he urged, adding that the release of all hostages and a Gaza ceasefire are within reach.

Hamas issued its formal response earlier to Trump's plan, in which it approved the release of all Israeli captives, the delivery of the bodies of the deceased, and the handover of Gaza's administration to an independent technocratic Palestinian body.

Earlier Friday, Trump gave Hamas until 6 pm Washington time (2200GMT) on Sunday to approve his plan.

The plan seeks to turn Gaza into a weapons-free zone, with a transitional governance mechanism overseen directly by Trump through a new international body tasked with monitoring implementation.

It includes the release of all Israeli captives held by Hamas within 72 hours of approval, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The plan mandates a halt to hostilities, disarming all armed groups in Gaza, and Israel’s gradual withdrawal from the war-torn coastal enclave, which is to be governed by a technocratic authority under the supervision of an international body led by the US president.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years. It tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 66,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly amid widespread displacement. ​​​​​​​