U.S. President Donald Trump set a deadline of 6 p.m. Washington time on Sunday for Hamas to accept the peace plan that he unveiled on Monday.
The president said that more than 25,000 Hamas “soldiers” have been killed to date. “Most of the rest are surrounded” and “just waiting for me to give the word ‘go’ for their lives to be quickly extinguished,” he stated.
The rest are in a known location and will be “hunted down and killed,” Trump stated.
The president called for “all innocent Palestinians” to “immediately leave this area.” He did not specify which location. He likely referred to Gaza City, which the Israel Defense Forces have surrounded and from where the Israeli military has warned the population to evacuate.
Trump wrote that his deal, which Israel and key Arab leaders have accepted, “also spares the lives of all remaining Hamas fighters.”
Under the plan, Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence” and to decommission their weapons would receive amnesty. Leaders would be exiled.
Trump said on Tuesday that Hamas would have “three to four days” to accept the plan.
While the terror group is reported to be reviewing the document, it is likely to reject it or demand significant changes that would be non-starters for the Trump administration.