President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is giving Hamas until 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday to reach a peace deal with Israel, threatening devastating consequences if it does not meet the deadline. “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. “THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed Monday to a deal proposed by Trump to end the war in Gaza that has lasted almost two years, though Hamas has yet to sign on. A senior Hamas official said the group would “examine any proposal that does not conflict with the interests of the Palestinians.”
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Trump sought to significantly ratchet up pressure on Hamas on Friday. He said he knows where Hamas soldiers are hiding and that the military is “waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO,’ for their lives to be quickly extinguished.”
“I am asking that all innocent Palestinians immediately leave this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza,” Trump said.
Hamas officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated the deadline during a briefing later Friday, saying the consequences would be “very tragic” if Hamas missed the deadline. She did not elaborate on how the United States would respond but said the “entire world should hear the president of the United States loud and clear.”
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The 20-point deal touted by Trump would pull the Israeli military out of Gaza in stages. It would also offer amnesty to Hamas members who “commit to peaceful coexistence” with Israel and forfeit their weapons.
Trump emphasized Friday that the deal “SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS!”
While some details remain to be seen, Netanyahu’s backing of the deal marked a potential turning point in the protracted negotiations to wind down the war. Leaders in neighboring Arab nations said they welcomed the agreement, another encouraging sign for a long-awaited breakthrough.
The Palestinian Authority, the governing body in the West Bank, is also supportive of the deal.
Trump has spoken dramatically about the deal and its potential effect on the Middle East, even as Hamas’s position on it has remained an open question.
[SRC] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/03/trump-gaza-peace-deal-ultimatum/
