US President Donald Trump said today that "Hamas" must agree to a proposed peace deal for the Gaza Strip by 6:00 p.m. Sunday night Washington time (1:00 a.m. Monday night Bulgarian time) and threatened that the Palestinian armed group would suffer more attacks if it did not, the Associated Press and Reuters reported.
"All sides have signed! If this LAST CHANCE deal is not reached, hell like never before will break loose on "Hamas", Trump wrote on his social network "Truth Social". "The agreement with "Hamas" must be reached by Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. Washington time". "One way or another, there will be peace in the Middle East", the US president added.
Trump presented his plan earlier this week at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When asked whether "Hamas" had finalized its response to Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official told Reuters last night: "Not yet, there are intensive discussions". The Hamas official stressed that the group had held talks with mediators from Arab states, Turkey and Palestinian factions to shape the "Palestinian response".
On Tuesday, Trump said he would give "Hamas" about three or four days to accept the 20-point peace plan that calls for the group to disarm - a demand that the Palestinian movement has repeatedly rejected.
The US plan, supported by many countries, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages held by "Hamas", the disarmament of the Islamist movement that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, a phased withdrawal of the Israeli army, the deployment of international forces in the enclave and the establishment of a transitional government there.