Trump sets Sunday night deadline for Hamas to back Gaza plan

U.S. President Donald Trump gave Hamas until Sunday evening to reach a last-chance agreement on his plan for Gaza’s future or have “all Hell” break out against the Palestinian militants.

“An agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time,” Trump wrote Friday on social media.

“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.”

Asked whether his group had finalised its response to Trump’s Gaza plan, a Hamas official told Reuters late on Thursday: “Not yet, intensive discussion is under way.”

The official said Hamas had held talks with Arab mediators, Turkey and Palestinian factions to shape “the Palestinian response.”

Trump had said on Tuesday he would give Hamas three to four days to accept the 20-point document, which calls on the group to disarm -- a demand it has previously rejected.

The plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body.

The U.S. president, increasingly frustrated by his failure to secure a ceasefire, described Hamas as a “ruthless and violent threat in the Middle East” that drew heavy retribution for its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said remaining Hamas militants in Gaza are trapped and “will be hunted down, and killed” without a deal, and warned “innocent Palestinians” to leave for safe areas of Gaza without specifying where that would be.

Source: Reuters

--Agencies