Hamas has 3-4 days to respond to Gaza peace proposal, says Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump says Hamas has “three or four days” to respond to his Gaza ceasefire proposal, telling reporters that Israeli and Arab leaders had already accepted the plan, Al Jazeera writes.

“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 at the White House on Tuesday.

Asked if there was room for negotiations on the proposal, he replied: “Not much.”

The US president also thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with Trump on Monday in Washington, DC, “for agreeing to the plan”.

Under the proposal, Hamas would be required to disarm and the US would work with Arab and international partners to install a “temporary international stabilization force”. The plan also states that Hamas would play no role in governing Gaza. Its members would be offered amnesty if they commit to “peaceful coexistence” while those wishing to leave the enclave would be granted safe passage abroad.

Trump said the plan also envisions a transitional government of Palestinian technocrats to provide daily services in Gaza, self-governance, the return of displaced residents and assurances that “the people of Gaza will not be removed”.

The renewed push to end Israel’s two-year war on Gaza comes as the Palestinian death toll has risen above 66,000 and the coastal enclave endures a humanitarian crisis.