- Trump Gives Hamas Ultimatum on Gaza Peace Plan
- An agreement be reached by 18:00 Washington time (22:00 GMT) on Sunday
- There would be peace in the Middle East “one way or the other.”
US President Donald Trump has issued a deadline to Hamas to accept a proposed American peace plan for Gaza or face severe consequences. Writing on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump demanded that an agreement be reached by 18:00 Washington time (22:00 GMT) on Sunday.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and the release within 72 hours of 20 surviving Israeli hostages, along with the remains of others believed dead, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians currently held in Israeli detention.
Arab and Turkish mediators are urging Hamas to agree, but a senior figure within the group has suggested rejection is likely. Trump warned that if the deal is refused, “all hell, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” insisting there would be peace in the Middle East “one way or the other.”
Sources say mediators have contacted the head of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, who opposes the plan. Some of Hamas’s political leaders in Qatar are reportedly open to compromise but lack authority over the hostages, making their leverage limited.
Another obstacle lies in the requirement that all hostages be freed in the first 72 hours of the truce, which Hamas fears would leave them without bargaining power.
It is believed 48 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom only 20 are thought to be alive. The conflict began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Since then, Israeli operations in Gaza have left at least 66,288 people dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
