Following Hamas’s failure to meet the deadline for responding to his proposal aimed at concluding the conflict in the Gaza Strip, US President Donald Trump stated on Friday that Hamas has until 6 pm on Sunday to accept the proposal.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump referred to this as the “last chance” for Hamas to agree to the proposal. He warned that a rejection or a lack of response would result in “all hell like no one has ever seen before breaking out against Hamas.”
Trump reiterated his earlier claim that Israel had accepted the proposal, asserting that Middle Eastern countries, “along with the United States of America, have agreed, with Israel’s endorsement, to pursue peace” in the region.
However, mere hours after Trump initially stated that Israel was in agreement with the proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the Israeli military would continue to operate in most of Gaza and that he would persist in opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state — both of which contradicted Trump’s 20-point agreement.
‘You will be hunted down & killed’: Trump’s warning to Hamas
In his Truth Social post, Trump cautioned Hamas that he is aware of the locations of most remaining Hamas terrorists, and they would be pursued and eliminated at his command. He indicated that the only condition under which he would spare them is if Hamas agrees to his proposal for Gaza.
Trump stated, “In retaliation for the October 7th attack on civilization, over 25,000 Hamas ‘soldiers’ have already been killed. The majority of the remaining individuals are encircled and militarily trapped, merely awaiting my order, ‘go’, for their lives to be swiftly extinguished. As for the others, we know who you are and where you are, and you will be hunted down and killed.”
Trump emphasized that Hamas has until 6 pm (Washington DC time) on Sunday to accept the proposal.
“Every country has signed on! If this final 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 another,” Trump declared.
Nevertheless, there have been indications that Hamas might seek specific modifications to the proposal in its response. Analysts have suggested that Hamas is unlikely to readily accept the plan, as it demands their disarmament and removal from power in Gaza.
But has Israel genuinely accepted Trump’s proposal? Trump has asserted that Israel has agreed to his proposal, and it is now up to Hamas to accept it in order to finalize the deal. However, Israel’s stance remains ambiguous.
Just hours following the release of the plan by Trump, Netanyahu retracted two of the proposal’s most significant points.
In a statement delivered in Hebrew, Netanyahu declared that the Israeli military “will remain in most of the Gaza Strip,” according to AFP.
Regarding the issue of Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu stated, “Not at all, and it is not written in the agreement. One thing was made clear: We will strongly oppose a Palestinian state.”
Both of these statements contradicted Trump’s Gaza proposal.
Trump’s proposal included a map indicating that Israel would gradually withdraw from the majority of Gaza. The map illustrated that only a small buffer zone would remain on the Gazan side of the Israel-Gaza border upon the completion of the phased withdrawal.
Trump’s plan explicitly stated that “Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza.”
Furthermore, Trump’s proposal outlined a pathway towards Palestinian statehood.
With advancements in Gaza’s redevelopment and the transfer of the strip to the reformed Palestinian Authority (PA), “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people,” the plan articulated.
