United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave Hamas a deadline of three to four days to accept a peace plan for Gaza laid out by the US, warning of "a very sad end" if the group rejected the proposal.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt shared the 20-point plan with Hamas late on Monday local time after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood alongside Trump at the White House and pledged his support for the proposal because he said it met Israel's war aims.
"I also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we've seen for so many years, decades, even centuries and begin a new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the entire region," Trump told reporters.
Hamas was not involved in the negotiations that led to the proposal, which calls on the militant group to disarm, a demand it has previously rejected. However, an official briefed on the talks told the Reuters news agency that the group "would review it in good faith and provide a response".
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump said Israeli and Arab leaders had already endorsed the plan and that "we’re just waiting for Hamas" to make its decision. He gave the group "three or four days" to respond.
"Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it’s not, it’s going to be a very sad end," Trump said as he left the White House. Asked whether there was scope for further talks on the proposal, he replied: "Not much."
The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body.
Hamas yet to respond
Hamas had not on Tuesday officially responded to Trump's proposal, and it was not immediately clear what was new about it, beyond the wide backing for the initiative expressed by Arab and Muslim countries.
Many elements of the 20 points have been included in numerous ceasefire deals proposed over the last two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Israel and Hamas.
One of Hamas’s main conditions since the outset of the war has been a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of the remaining hostages. And while the group has indicated its readiness to relinquish administrative authority, it has consistently ruled out disarming.
"What Trump has proposed is the full adoption of all Israeli conditions, which do not grant the Palestinian people or the residents of the Gaza Strip any legitimate rights," a Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, said.
Other Arab countries back deal
It was unclear how Hamas would word its response, as an absolute rejection may put it in collision with a group of Arab and Muslim countries which welcomed the plan.
The foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt issued a joint statement welcoming Trump's proposal and underscoring what they said were the president's "sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza".
Some Palestinians hailed the plan, saying it could end the bombardment and deaths, but they wondered whether it would really end Israel's control of the Gaza Strip.
"We want the war to end but we want the occupation army that killed tens of thousands of us to get out and leave us alone," Salah Abu Amr, 60, a father of six from Gaza City, said.
"We hope the plan will end the war, but we are not sure it will, neither Trump nor Netanyahu can be trusted."
In Gaza, Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City, reaching to the centre of the territory, which Netanyahu described as the last Hamas bastion.
Israel also ramped up its bombardment of residential districts, forcing more families to leave, witnesses and medics said.
At least two people were killed when the Israeli army blew up an explosive-laden vehicle in Beach camp in western Gaza City, medics said, while nine people, including a mother and five of her children, were killed in two separate attacks in Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis in the south.
