President Trump warned Hamas officials on Friday that time was running out to sign on to a cease-fire deal with Israel to end their fighting in Gaza, setting a deadline of Sunday evening and instructing innocent Palestinians to flee for “safer parts” of the territory.
Just days ago, Mr. Trump stood at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and hailed the U.S.-led peace plan, calling it “potentially one of the great days ever in civilization.”
Mr. Trump’s threats, delivered in a 300-word missive on social media, were a sign that he was growing frustrated with Hamas officials, who had said they were considering the proposal but rejected its presentation as an ultimatum.
“Hamas is discussing this plan with seriousness,” Mohammad Nazzal, a senior Hamas official, told Al Jazeera in an interview on Thursday. He added that Hamas had “comments” on the 20-point plan and was looking for “gray areas” that it could work with.
On social media, the president warned Hamas fighters that thousands of them had already been killed and that many more would be if they did not agree to a deal by 6 p.m. on Sunday.
“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,” he wrote.
“I am asking that all innocent Palestinians immediately leave this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza,” Mr. Trump added. “Everyone will be well cared for by those that are waiting to help.”
For scores of people living in Gaza, uprooting is difficult or impossible. Hundreds of thousands live near Gaza City, the site of the latest Israeli ground invasion, and are unable or unwilling to flee to overcrowded areas with scarce resources.
The 20-point proposal calls for Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and for the group to disarm. The plan also stipulated a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. After Mr. Trump unveiled the proposal, he told reporters in Washington that he would give Hamas “three or four days” to respond, meaning the Sunday deadline is already an extension.
Adam Rasgon contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.
Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent for The Times, reporting on President Trump.
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