Trump gives Hamas a 6 p.m. Sunday ultimatum to accept Gaza deal — warns of unprecedented retaliation

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump gave Hamas a blunt ultimatum, requiring the militant organization to accept his suggested structure of the future of Gaza by 6 p.m. Washington, D.C. time on Sunday, or face consequences he described as unlike anything ever seen.

In a post on social media, Trump wrote: An agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time. And he put that on: Every Country has signed on! and threatened the failure of the “LAST CHANCE” bargain, all HELL, such as never seen before, will burst out against Hamas.

Also Read

Eldoret Woman Admits Buying Missing Boy for Ksh.30,500, Claims She Couldn’t Conceive
Madagascar President Appoints Army General as Prime Minister Amid Widening Protests
ICC Convicts Sudanese Militia Leader Ali Kushayb for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Darfur

The 20-point plan Trump is demanding requires a variety of actions that are supposed to terminate the fighting and restructure the governance in Gaza. They are an immediate ceasefire, the complete replacement of all the hostages in Hamas’s hands with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli hands, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from its territory, the demilitarization of Hamas and the creation of a transitional government under the control of international forces. At the center of the plan is the need for Hamas to lay down its arms, something the group has been denying.

Inquired about the group’s reaction, one Hamas official told Reuters late on Thursday that no final decision had been made and that intensive debate was ongoing. The official noted that Hamas had been meeting with Arab mediators, Turkey and other Palestinian groups to develop a unified Palestinian response.

Trump has many times expressed his frustration over his failure to reach a ceasefire and described Hamas in his post as a cruel and brutal danger in the Middle East, citing the attacks on Israel by the group on October 7, 2023, as the reason to take such decisive action. Still in the same message, he indicated there were still Hamas fighters holed up in Gaza, and he vowed to hunt them down and kill them unless they accepted the plan.

The reason was that the president encouraged innocent Palestinians to relocate to more secure regions within Gaza. Still, the question arose as to what these areas would be and how their safety would be guaranteed. His wording emphasized an aggressive stance that aimed to achieve a swift settlement, either by accepting the terms offered or through a more violent military response.

The weekend deadline was preceded by Trump indicating that he would allow Hamas three to four days to accept the document. This strategy of his administration, which ties a short, harsh ultimatum to an elaborate and multi-pointed blueprint, is an amalgamation of diplomatic coercion and a willingness to escalate the matter to a military level in the event of any failures in the negotiations.

A network of actors exists internationally as Hamas considers its reaction: Arab brokers, Turkey, and allies within the Palestinian community may have a role to play in any decision and may affect alternative proposals. Meanwhile, the details of the 20-point plan, especially its insistence on disarmament and an internationally led transitional government, deal with highly sensitive matters that have historically been non-starters for Hamas.

Observers will also observe both the content of a response by the Palestinians and whether international actors can make inroads to close divisions between the conflicting demands of security, accountability and governance in Gaza as the Sunday deadline approaches.