US President Donald Trump Issues Weekend Deadline for the Militant Group to Endorse Gaza Peace Plan
US President Donald Trump has delivered a ultimatum to Hamas, requiring them to agree to a American ceasefire agreement for the Gaza region otherwise risk severe actions.
Via a post on his social media channel on Friday, the President announced that an agreement must be reached by 6 PM EST (10 PM GMT) on the coming Sunday.
The proposed plan involves an immediate end to conflict and the return within three days of twenty surviving Israeli captives kept by the group—as well as the remnants of individuals believed to be dead—in exchange for a large number of detained Palestinians.
Arab and Turkish negotiators are understood to be encouraging the organization for a positive reply to the proposal, but a high-ranking group official has indicated that the militant group is expected to refuse it.
"Should this LAST CHANCE settlement is not secured, all HELL, as no one has ever seen, will erupt against the group. WE WILL ACHIEVE STABILITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER," Trump wrote in the Truth Social update.
Negotiators have been in touch with the chief of Hamas's military wing in the territory, who has suggested that he disagrees to the recent American ceasefire plan, as per reports.
There is belief that certain members of Hamas's political wing in the Gulf state are open to agreeing to the proposal with modifications—yet have discovered their influence restricted as they do not have command over the captives detained by the faction.
Another obstacle for a number of in the group is that the agreement demands them to hand over each and every the captives over the initial short window of the halt—surrendering their sole bargaining chip.
It is estimated to be forty-eight captives still being detained in the Gazan area by the armed faction, just twenty of whom are thought to be living.
Israel's military began a campaign in Gaza in retaliation to the group's attack on Israeli territory on 7 October 2023, in which roughly twelve hundred individuals were killed and 251 others were captured.
At least 66,288 residents have been fatally injured in Israeli strikes in the territory since then, based on data from the territory's group-administered health ministry.