Trump gets long-sought Gaza hostage deal with a whole lot of help from Arab and Muslim allies

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of gridlock, President Donald Trump finally landed a long-sought Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza — an agreement that only came together after a weekslong diplomacy blitz and a whole lot of help from some Arab and Muslim allies.

The breakthrough is designed to bring about a pause in the fighting unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The group is expected to release 48 hostages — about 20 of them believed to be alive — in the coming days.

The brutal war finally reached a turning point because a badly battered Hamas recognized the hostages had become more of a liability than an asset, according to two senior U.S. officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations.

One of the officials said negotiators, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, believed they finally had an opening when they sensed that “Hamas had enough.”

Still, the way to an agreement had remained complicated, leaving the U.S. administration in the difficult position of negotiating through a thicket of distrust between Israel and its Middle East neighbors that was in danger of further metastasizing.

Major questions remain, including over governance and reconstruction of a territory that largely has been destroyed as well as whether Hamas will disarm — a key Israeli demand that the militants have not yet publicly accepted.

But for now Trump appears to be headed toward a delicate truce and making good on his campaign promise to bring home all remaining hostages.

In early September, long-running ceasefire talks mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar were at a standstill.

Witkoff had walked away weeks earlier, blaming Hamas. The militant group then accepted a proposal that mediators said was almost identical to one approved by Israel, but there was no public response from Israel or the U.S.

Hamas stuck to its position that it would only release the remaining hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected those terms, saying the war would only end with Hamas’ surrender and the return of all the captives, with Israel maintaining open-ended security control over Gaza.

On Sept. 9, explosions rocked Doha. Israel had carried out an airstrike on Hamas leaders and negotiators as they had gathered to consider the latest ceasefire proposal in Qatar, a close U.S. ally and mediator. The strike killed five lower-ranking Hamas members and a Qatari security forces member.

It infuriated Gulf Arab leaders and angered the White House. Trump quickly went into damage control, seeking to reassure Qatar.

The strike alarmed U.S. allies across the region, including countries like Turkey and Egypt that have hosted Hamas political leaders. The war that Trump had pledged to end was at risk of spiraling across the Middle East once again.

But the Qataris remained engaged with Witkoff and Kushner, helping Trump’s chief negotiators tailor what would become the president's 20-point peace plan before he would ultimately present it to other Arab and Muslim countries for support, the U.S. officials said.

Two weeks after the Doha strike, Trump met with the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim nations on the sidelines of an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that highlighted Israel’s growing isolation. The president said it was his “most important meeting.”

The president returned to Washington while Witkoff checked into the luxury Regency New York, staying near Kushner's New York apartment so the two could continue coordinating as they fine-tuned the document.

All the while, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, they continued to meet and hold calls with Arab and Muslim country leaders to try to build support.

Less than a week later, Witkoff and Kushner were back in Washington with the finalized plan, as the president was set to meet with Netanyahu for the Israeli leader's fourth visit to the White House this year.

Witkoff and Kushner had come up with the idea of nudging Netanyahu to make a visible gesture toward reconciliation with the Qataris for the strike.

Trump dialed up Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and spoke to him before handing the phone to Netanyahu. The prime minister read from a written apology, expressing his regret for Israel violating Qatari sovereignty with the strike.

The White House later published photos of a grim-faced Trump with the phone awkwardly perched in his lap as Netanyahu delivered the apology.

In a press conference in Washington after the Sept. 29 meeting, Netanyahu said he had accepted Trump's plan.

Rubio said Trump’s negotiators then stepped up their efforts through intermediaries in Qatar and Egypt to get Hamas on board, while Trump held phone calls and meetings with world leaders.

The U.S. plan calls for Hamas to release all the remaining hostages within 72 hours of the ceasefire in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, to give up power in Gaza and to disarm.

Hamas during negotiations made clear its willingness to release all hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and to give up power to other Palestinians. But it said other elements of Trump's plan required more negotiation and offered nothing about disarming, a key Israeli demand.

The response was clearly a “yes, but.”

The U.S. and Israel could have taken it as a “no” and blamed Hamas for the failure to reach a ceasefire on Israel's terms, as they had in the past. Israel could have vowed to press ahead with its invasion of Gaza City or even expand it.

But when the Hamas response landed late Friday, Israel was largely shut down for the Sabbath, and Trump was first to respond, concluding he believed Hamas was ready for peace.

In a brief statement later that night, Netanyahu said Israel was preparing for the implementation of the “first stage” of Trump’s plan — the release of hostages — and was still committed to ending the war according to its own principles.

It made no mention of the fact that Hamas had not accepted some key demands.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Fox News on Thursday that he and many other Israeli officials were skeptical about Hamas' heavily qualified acceptance. But he said Trump's decision to frame it as a sign of momentum created opportunity.

In an interview with Fox News host and ally Sean Hannity after announcing the agreement, the president said he hoped it would help repair Israel's international standing.

“I spoke to Bibi Netanyahu just a little while ago,” Trump told Hannity, using the Israeli prime minister's nickname. “I said, ‘Israel cannot fight the world, Bibi.' They can’t fight the world. And he understands that very well.”

Krauss reported from Ottawa, Ontario. AP writers Michelle Price and Will Weissert contributed reporting.

Palestinians celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Celebrations remain limited, as relief is mixed with mourning and concern for what comes next. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli tanks are positioned on the coastal road leading to Gaza City near Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Washington. From left are Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Einav Zangauker, center, mother of Matan Zangauker, who is being held hostage by Hamas, reacts as she and others celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

President Donald Trump speaks upon departing a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in foreground, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

BERLIN (AP) — The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland blasted the move Sunday, warning that the American leader's threats “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”

In an unusual and very strong joint statement coming from major U.S. allies, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland on Sunday said troops sent to Greenland for the Danish military training exercise “Arctic Endurance” pose “no threat to anyone.”

Trump's Saturday announcement sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security.

“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland," the group said. “Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”

There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity."

Trump's move was also panned domestically.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Trump’s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need.”

“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on social media. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”

Six of the countries targeted are part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was not immediately clear if Trump's tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.

The tariff announcement even drew blowback from Trump's populist allies in Europe.

Italy’s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said Sunday she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as “a mistake.”

The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni told reporters. She said the deployment was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against “other actors” that she didn’t name.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that “no intimidation or threats will influence us, whether in Ukraine, Greenland or anywhere else in the world when we are faced with such situations." He added that "tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.”

Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., describing Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail.”

Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties — including the hard-right Reform UK party — all of whom criticized the tariff threat.

“We don’t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us,” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Trump, wrote on social media. He stopped short of criticizing Trump's designs on Greenland.

Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the center-left Labour Party, said the tariffs announcement was “completely wrong” and his government would “be pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration.”

The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.

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Leicester reported from Paris and Cook from Brussels. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Aamer Madhani in Washington and Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.

A crowd walks to the US consulate to protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A boy holds a crossed out map of Greenland topped by a hairpiece symbolizing U.S. President Donald Trump, during a protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)