US President Donald Trump has given Hamas an ultimatum of “three or four days” to accept his plan to end the war in Gaza “for their own good” or face severe consequences.
Trump’s plan, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, a disarmament of the Palestinian militants and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.
World powers, including Arab and Muslim nations, welcomed the proposal, but Hamas had yet to issue a response as it reviewed the terms.
“We’re going to do about three or four days,” Trump told reporters when asked about any timeframe.
He later warned Hamas it would face severe consequences if it refused.
“We have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don’t sign,” Trump told US generals and admirals gathered at a military base in Quantico, Virginia.
A Palestinian source said on condition of anonymity that Hamas had begun consultations and “the discussions could take several days due to the complexities”.
Qatar, which hosts Hamas’ exiled leadership, said it would hold a meeting with Hamas officials and Turkey later Tuesday.
“It is still too early to speak about responses, but we are truly optimistic that this plan, as we said, is a comprehensive one,” a Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said.
Upon returning from his White House meeting with Trump on Monday, Netanyahu said he would brief his Cabinet on a deal that would achieve “all the war aims we have set”.
His comments came as Israel continued its offensive in Gaza, with the territory’s civil defence agency and hospitals saying 46 people had been killed, including 15 in Gaza City.
Trump’s proposal demands that Hamas militants fully disarm and be excluded from future roles in the Government, but those who agree to “peaceful co-existence” would be given amnesty.
It would also see a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza after nearly two years of war sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
But in an earlier video after the press conference with Trump, Netanyahu said the Israeli military would stay in most of Gaza, and claimed he did not agree to a Palestinian state during his talks in Washington.
Still, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Netanyahu’s coalition Government, blasted the plan as a “resounding diplomatic failure”.
“In my estimation, it will also end in tears. Our children will be forced to fight in Gaza again,” Smotrich said.
Trump’s plan includes deployment of a “temporary international stabilisation force” and the creation of a transitional authority headed by Trump himself and including former British prime minister Tony Blair.
But during his press conference with Trump, Netanyahu cast doubt on whether the Palestinian Authority, which nominally runs population centres in the occupied West Bank, would be allowed a role in Gaza’s governance.
He also warned that “If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself.”
Trump said Israel would have his “full backing” to do so if Hamas did not accept the deal.
Washington’s European allies including Britain, France, Germany and Italy voiced strong expressions of support, while China and Russia also declared their backing.
But in Gaza, people were sceptical.
“It’s clear that this plan is unrealistic,” 39-year-old computer programmer Ibrahim Joudeh told AFP from his shelter in the so-called humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.
“It’s drafted with conditions that the US and Israel know Hamas will never accept. For us, that means the war and the suffering will continue,” he said.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed what it called Trump’s “sincere and determined efforts”.
But Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said the plan would fuel further aggression against Palestinians.
“Through this, Israel is attempting - via the United States - to impose what it could not achieve through war,” the group said.
The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s offensive has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed 66,097 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
– Agence France-Presse