US president Donald Trump warned Hamas has until Sunday to respond to his Gaza peace plan, and vowed “all hell” will break out if a deal is not reached by his new deadline.
Trump demanded Hamas agree to his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza by Sunday, 6pm Washington time (11pm BST), and insisted the group will be given “one last chance” to respond.
“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER,” he added in all caps.
Various Israeli media reports, citing officials familiar with the talks, indicate that Hamas is likely to respond positively to the US proposal but with a series of amendments. However, the BBC reported that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, head of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, opposes the plan and is determined to keep fighting.
Trump threatened Hamas several times in his Truth Social post, claiming that its members are “surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, “GO,” for their lives to be quickly extinguished”.
He continued: “As for the rest, we know where and who you are, and you will be hunted down, and killed.
He urged Palestinians to leave “this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza”, seemingly referring to Gaza City in the north of the enclave where Israeli forces have intensified their bombing campaign.
Around 400,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City and have headed south since Israel launched a major offensive last month aimed at occupying it, but hundreds of thousands remain.
On Wednesday, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, issued a warning which he described as the “last opportunity” for Palestinians to leave Gaza City and move south.
“Those who remain in Gaza will be (considered) terrorists and terror supporters,” he said.
At least 49 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Friday, including 31 in Gaza City alone, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
In his Truth Social post, Trump assured those who choose to leave for safer parts of Gaza that they will be “cared for by those that are waiting to help”, without elaborating further.
Trump’s Sunday deadline comes just two days before the second anniversary of the Oct 7 Hamas terror attack that killed around 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage.
