Trump Gives Hamas a Sunday Deadline

President Trump said Friday that Hamas must agree to a proposed peace deal for Gaza by 6pm Eastern time on Sunday and threatened the group will suffer more attacks if it doesn't.

• In a Truth Social post, Trump said: "Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas." He warned, "THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER."
• Trump said more than 25,000 Hamas fighters had already been killed as "retribution for the October 7th attack on civilization," adding: "Most of the rest 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."

• "Great, powerful, and very rich Nations of the Middle East, and the surrounding areas beyond, together with the United States of America, have agreed, with Israel signing on, to PEACE, after 3000 years, in the Middle East," Trump wrote.
• The president, echoing warnings from the Israeli military, said he is "asking that all innocent Palestinians immediately leave this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza."

The president unveiled the plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week. Trump's proposal would place Gaza under control of a temporary governing committee led by Trump himself. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would be involved as well.

Under the proposal, civilians would not be required to evacuate the territory, something that Trump had floated before. Hamas would be required to disarm and release any remaining hostages. Surviving fighters would be allowed to leave. Hamas said Tuesday that it would study the proposal. Sources tell the BBC that Turkish and Qatari mediators are pushing for a "positive response," but the prospects are not looking good. The sources say Hamas' political leaders in Qatar are open to accepting the plan, with some adjustments, but the head of Hamas' military wing in Gaza, who has control of the hostages, has signaled that he will reject it.