US President Donald Trump on Friday issued an ultimatum to Hamas of 2200 GMT Sunday to accept his Gaza peace deal or face “all hell.” While Hamas asked for more time to review the deal.
The Palestinian militants have until “Sunday Evening at SIX (6) PM, Washington, DC time,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”
In the post, Trump said “innocent Palestinians” should evacuate an unspecified area in anticipation of a potential assault on Hamas’s remaining forces.
Most of Hamas’ fighters “are surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give 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,” Trump said.
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“I am asking that all innocent Palestinians immediately leave this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza. Everyone will be well cared for by those that are waiting to help. Fortunately for Hamas, however, they will be given one last chance!”
Trump’s peace proposal after nearly two years of devastating Israeli onslaughts against Gaza has been backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but so far has not been accepted by Hamas.
The deal calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.
It was not clear what Trump’s evacuation order to Palestinian civilians meant.
The Israeli military is waging an air and ground offensive on the territory’s largest urban center, from which hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee.
The UN on Friday reiterated there was no safe place in Gaza and that Israel-designated zones in the south were “places of death.”
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 66,225 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
Hamas asks for more time to review proposal
A Hamas official told AFP on Friday that the group still needed time to study US President Donald Trump’s plan to end nearly two years of devastating war in Gaza.
The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.
“Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump’s plan… and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time,” the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon”.
On the ground on Friday, Gaza’s civil defence agency — a rescue force operating under Hamas authority — reported heavy air bombardment and artillery shelling on Gaza City.
It said Israeli strikes killed at least 11 people across the territory, including eight in Gaza City.
AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP cannot independently verify details or casualty figures provided by the Israeli military or the civil defence.
‘Places of death’
The Israeli military is waging an air and ground offensive on the territory’s largest urban centre, from which hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee.
The UN on Friday reiterated there was no safe place in Gaza and that Israel-designated zones in the south were “places of death”.
“The notion of a safe zone in the south is farcical,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva, speaking from the Gaza Strip.
Amnesty International condemned a “catastrophic wave of mass displacement” as Israel intensified its Gaza City offensive.
‘Two opinions’ in Hamas’
Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the group was split over Trump’s plan.
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Structurally, the group’s leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.
Much of Hamas’s leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.
The source told AFP that “the first (opinion) supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan”.
“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses… They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands,” the source added.
Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “ultimately it’s not just about convincing Hamas leadership in Doha, but also the leadership in Gaza, as well as Hamas members and fighters in Gaza,” he added.
“Additionally, Hamas must then be able to convince other factions in Gaza,” he added.
