The thought of Hamas publicly thanking Donald Trump for his peacemaking efforts would have been impossible to imagine just days ago.

This, after all, is the president who vowed "all Hell" would be unleashed on Hamas if the hostages weren't returned.

And yet, in an exclusive interview with Hamas's senior leader Dr Basem Naim, that's exactly what happened.

"Without the personal interference of President Trump in this case, I don't think that it would happen to reach this end, the end of the war," Dr Naim told me.

"Therefore, yes, we thank President Trump and his personal efforts to interfere and to pressure Israel to make an end of this massacre and slaughtering."

Image: It's been a week in which news of a major peace plan breakthrough came in a surreptitiously passed note. Pics:

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