US President Donald Trump has said “all hell will break out” if Hamas does not agree to a peace deal by Sunday evening.
Trump has urged Hamas to agree to a 20-point proposal that outlined fresh plans for peace in Gaza, or risk facing more attacks.
The president said Hamas has until 6pm EST (10pm GMT) on Sunday to decide on the peace deal, putting pressure on the military group.
“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 wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“There will be peace in the Middle East one way or the other.”
The proposal already has the backing of Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and is the first of its kind to envisage how Gaza would be governed if fighting were to subside.
The plan would involve releasing some 48 hostages currently held by the militant group, including those still alive and the bodies of those who have died.
It also states Israeli troops would be required to withdraw from Gaza, but clarifies that its forces would maintain a buffer zone, which could be within the territory itself.
The peace plan requires Hamas to disarm completely and dismantle the group’s network of tunnels, and would see a large-scale flow of aid into the territory managed by “neutral international bodies”, such as the UN and Red Crescent.
Former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair would have a key role in overseeing Gaza’s future if the peace deal goes ahead.
On Tuesday, Hamas said it would study the proposal, but at the time, Trump pushed the group to respond within “three to four days”.
A later post added new pressure to the military group in a bid to end the war in the Middle East, almost two years on from the October 7 attack.
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