President Donald Trump said he plans to give Hamas the remainder of the week to respond to his 20-point proposal for peace in Gaza.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel’s support for the plan, along with buy-in from a number of Arab nations, at the White House on Monday. The framework calls for the release of hostages, dead or alive, within 72 hours, the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the creation of a new international body overseeing the day-to-day cleanup effort, and the phased withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces.
Trump delivered remarks to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday morning, and before departing the White House, he fielded multiple questions on the topic from reporters.
“We’re going to do about three or four days. We’ll see how it is. All of the Arab countries are signed up,” Trump said when asked how long he would give Hamas to accept the plan. “The Muslim countries are all signed up. Israel is all signed up. We’re just waiting for Hamas, and Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it’s not, it’s going to be a very sad end.”
The president didn’t directly answer a question about any negotiating wiggle room for the terrorist group, simply stating that “we want it very simple.”
“We want the hostages back immediately, and we want some good behavior. And, you know, pretty, pretty simple. You don’t get simpler,” Trump continued. “Think of it. We’ve signed every country in the Middle East. This is like an impossible thing. It’s never been done before. This is more than Gaza. Gaza is mixed up, but this is — Gaza is a piece of it.”
Trump also reiterated that, should Hamas reject the deal, he “would let [Israel] go and do what they have to do.”
TRUMP TOUTS GAZA PLEACE PLAN AS NETANYAHU WARNS HAMAS IT CAN BE DONE THE ‘EASY’ OR ‘HARD’ WAY
“We’ve killed about 25,000 Hamas. So, certainly, they paid a big price for Oct. 7. And this is a whole new group. You know, they come in, and they come in, and they keep coming. But this is a whole different group, and their leadership has been killed three different times, so they paid a big price,” he concluded. “We hope that they’re going to have a nice, calm life. Maybe it won’t happen, but if it does, it’ll be one of the greatest things ever to happen. We’ll have actual peace in the Middle East.”
