Trump gives Hamas Sunday deadline to accept Israel-Gaza peace deal
The US President Donald Trump has given Hamas Sunday as deadline to accept the 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
Trump said this on his Truth Social platform on Friday that an agreement must be reached by 18:00 Washington time (22:00 GMT) on Sunday or Hamas should be ready to face “all hell”.
The plan proposes amongst others an immediate end to fighting and the release of 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas within 72 hours, as well as the remains of hostages thought to be dead, in exchange for hundreds of detained Palestinians.
Though a senior Hamas figure was claimed to have said that the group was likely to reject the proposed plan, reports say Arab and Turkish mediators are pressing Hamas for a positive response to the proposed plan
“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 wrote in the post.
Trump had earlier said on Tuesday that he was giving Hamas “three to four days” to respond to the peace plan, before this announcement was made on Friday.
Israel’s military is waging an air and ground offensive on the territory’s largest urban center, where an estimated 800,000 residents have fled to designated safe humanitarian zones under the control of Israeli authorities.
The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, where Hamas terrorists massacred over 1200 Israelis and took over 250 hostage.
Israel’s retaliatory warfare in Gaza has also led to the death of thousands of military personnel and civilians alike in Gaza.
