WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has given Hamas three to four days to respond to a U.S.-backed peace proposal for Gaza, warning of “a very sad end” if the group rejects the plan that he said could bring an end to the two-year conflict.
The 20-point proposal, presented to Hamas on Monday by mediators Qatar and Egypt, was endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a White House meeting with Trump. It calls for an immediate ceasefire, the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the creation of a transitional government under an international body.
Trump told reporters in Washington that Israeli and Arab leaders had already expressed support for the plan. “We’re just waiting for Hamas,” he said, stressing that the group had only a few days to decide. Asked if there was room for further negotiation, Trump replied, “Not much.”
Hamas, which was excluded from the talks that shaped the proposal, has long rejected disarmament. An official close to the group said it would “review it in good faith,” but a Hamas source told Reuters the plan was “completely biased to Israel” and contained “impossible conditions.” A Palestinian official, who requested anonymity, said: “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.”
Despite this resistance, Hamas faces mounting international pressure. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Egypt have welcomed the plan, while Turkey announced that its intelligence chief would join mediators in Doha to discuss it.
Reactions in Gaza remain divided. “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,” said Salah Abu Amr, 60, a father of six from Gaza City. Others expressed doubts about whether Trump or Netanyahu could be trusted to follow through.
The conflict escalated after Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in 251 hostages being taken into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a large-scale offensive that Gaza health authorities say has killed more than 66,000 people.
Israeli forces advanced further into Gaza City on Tuesday, reaching its center, while warplanes dropped leaflets urging residents to evacuate south. Netanyahu, who is under growing pressure from both Israeli citizens and his far-right coalition partners, reiterated that “the battle against Hamas is decisive and will not end until it is defeated.”
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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