Hamas demands full IDF withdrawal from Gaza when last hostage is released
Trump’s peace plan did not set a timeframe for the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that his country’s forces will not be leaving the Palestinian enclave.
October 7, 2025 11:00 PM IST
First published on: Oct 7, 2025 at 10:59 PM IST
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Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip carry posters with portraits of their loved ones during a protest demanding their immediate release and calling for a ceasefire, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, on the second anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Palestinian militant group Hamas has reportedly demanded a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza as soon as it hands over the final Israeli hostage during negotiations in Egypt. An unnamed Hamas source told Al Jazeera that the group is also seeking international guarantees that Israel will abide by the demand for a complete ceasefire and total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas’ demands to end war in Gaza
On Friday, Hamas had partially accepted US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, which called for the release of the remaining 48 hostages and the IDF’s gradual withdrawal from the enclave.
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Shiri Tamam, an Israeli Canadian holds a photo of an Israeli soldier killed in the October 7, 2023 deadly Hamas attack on Israel, at a memorial marking two years anniversary of the assault, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
However, Trump’s peace plan did not set a timeframe for the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly claimed that his country’s forces will not be leaving the Palestinian enclave.
Other demands Hamas has made on the second day of the talks in Cairo include:
A permanent and comprehensive ceasefire
The complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all of Gaza
Unrestricted entry of humanitarian and relief aid
The return of displaced people to their homes
The immediate start of a full reconstruction process, supervised by a Palestinian national body of technocrats
A fair prisoner exchange deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will only end when Hamas returns all the remaining hostages, hands over power and disarms.
Hamas has long said it will release the hostages if its demands are met and that it is willing to hand over power to other Palestinians. It has so far publicly refused calls to disarm.
Palestinian Aida Al-Soussi sits in front of the tent where she lives in the Nuseirat area of the central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Meanwhile, Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, on Tuesday said the hostages will be freed only if Israel agrees to end the war in Gaza.
“Captives will not be released except through an exchange deal in which Israel commits to ending the war,” the Al Quds Brigades said in a statement.
Of the 251 people Hamas took hostage on October 7, 2023, there are 48 who are still in captivity in Gaza. Authorities believe that only around 20 of the Israeli hostages are alive.
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Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip carry posters with portraits of their loved ones during a protest demanding their immediate release and calling for a ceasefire, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, on the second anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) 
