US president Donald Trump on Friday gave Hamas an ultimatum to accept his Gaza peace plan by Sunday 6 pm Washington DC time, or face “all hell.”
“An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”
Trump had disclosed the plan earlier this week with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The deal comes after almost two years of conflict but has not yet been accepted by Hamas.
On Tuesday, Hamas said it would study the proposal. Trump told media the group had “three or four days” to respond.
He also threatened Hamas directly, saying most of its fighters “are surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO,’ for their lives to be quickly extinguished. As for the rest, we know where and who you are, and you will be hunted down, and killed.”
The deal calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament, and Israel’s phased withdrawal from Gaza. After this, Trump would head the post-war authority.
Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said on Friday the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon.”
Hamas has maintained that it will only release hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, insisting Hamas must disarm and surrender.
