Trump gives Hamas until Sunday to respond to his Gaza peace plan

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday set a countdown for Hamas to accept Washington’s 20‑point peace plan for Gaza, which was made public last Monday and already has Israel’s approval. In a message on Truth Social, his social network, the Republican gave the Palestinian fundamentalist group an ultimatum that expires at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Washington time, to respond. He threatened them with “all hell” if they do not accept the proposal. “There will be peace in the Middle East one way or the other,” he wrote.

In his usual style, dotted with words in capital letters as if shouting, Trump posted that — according to him — “Every Country has signed on” to the plan, which contains demands Hamas has rejected again and again in the past. Among them is the obligation to disarm, something unthinkable for the Palestinian organization that governs the Gaza Strip.

So far, Hamas has limited itself to saying from Qatar that it is examining the proposal, which offers it few guarantees and includes only one deadline: 72 hours for the prisoner exchange. The organization has demanded that the plan include concrete timetables for an Israeli withdrawal and hopes to secure other changes, such as the possibility of keeping part of its arsenals.

On Monday, Hamas said it had not had access to the document before the White House released the final 20 points, which were tweaked at the last minute to accommodate Israeli demands. The peace plan, barely three pages long, was published immediately before a joint appearance by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump at the White House following a meeting in the Oval Office.

The plan specifies the establishment of an immediate ceasefire and an exchange of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails. It also foresees a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the opening of humanitarian aid, and the establishment of a provisional Palestinian government under the supervision of an international entity that would be headed by Trump himself and former British prime minister Tony Blair, along with other figures yet to be determined.

But it does not set as its objective the establishment of a future Palestinian state — a goal Netanyahu rejects with every fiber of his being; the document only makes a vague reference to dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians to agree on “a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence.”

Hamas, for its part, rejects the idea of an international body supervising a transitional government and argues that Palestinians — even if their profile is technocratic rather than political — should be in charge of the Gaza Strip. It has already resigned itself to not retaining control of the territory, but the agreement also does not foresee the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, taking charge. The document conditions any such future participation on a list of obligations subject to Israel’s judgment, which include renouncing the right to bring Israel before international tribunals.

In his message, Trump warned the Palestinian Islamist group that this is their “LAST CHANCE.” If they do not approve the deal, “All HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” he said.

Last Tuesday, Trump have Hamas a vague deadline of “three or four days” to respond to the plan. Had he been strict with his words, that ultimatum would have expired on Friday.

“Hamas has been a ruthless and violent threat, for many years, in the Middle East! They have killed (and made lives unbearably miserable), culminating with the October 7th MASSACRE,” the U.S. president posted on his social media account.

Trump claims that more than 25,000 Hamas “soldiers” have been killed in the Israeli offensive, and that “most of those left are surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to say 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.”

He also called on “all innocent Palestinians” to leave “this area of potentially great future deaths” and move to relatively safer areas of the Gaza Strip. All of them, he promises, will be cared for “by those that are waiting to help. Fortunately for Hamas, however, they will be given one last chance!”

The U.S. president also argued that the agreement “spares the lives” of the remaining Hamas fighters, adding: “We will have PEACE in the Middle East one way or the other. The violence and bloodshed will stop. RELEASES [sic] THE HOSTAGES, ALL OF THEM, INCLUDING THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT ARE DEAD, NOW!”

The message ended with Trump repeating: “THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”

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