US president Donald Trump has urged Hamas to accept what he called a “final proposal” for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, claiming that Israel had agreed to the “necessary conditions” for it to be finalised.
Mr Trump’s comments, the latest in a string of public ultimatums he has delivered to the Palestinian militant group, came after he said he would be “very firm” with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu about the need for a quick deal when the two meet in Washington next week.
“Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social late on Tuesday.
“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better – IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.”
Mr Trump did not give any details of the terms of a possible truce, and efforts by the US, Qatar and Egypt to mediate one since Israel broke the last ceasefire in March have repeatedly failed.
Hamas did not give a definitive response to Mr Trump’s demand, but said on Wednesday that mediators were engaged in “intensive efforts” to start a “serious” round of talks.
The group added that it was striving for an agreement that would guarantee an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and an influx of aid to the shattered enclave.
Israeli officials have previously said they would accept a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire advanced by Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, during which some of the roughly 50 hostages still being held by Hamas – about 20 of whom are thought to be alive – would be released.
But Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly baulked at agreeing to any deal that permanently ends the war in Gaza, one of Hamas’s central demands, leaving efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement deadlocked.
The Israeli prime minister said during a visit to an energy facility in Ashkelon on Wednesday that Israel would destroy Hamas and free the hostages still being held in Gaza by the militant group. “There will be no Hamas,” he said. “We are not going back to that.”
However, since brokering an end to the 12-day war between Iran and Israel last week, Mr Trump has launched a renewed push for a deal in Gaza, and said earlier on Tuesday that he hoped one could be agreed imminently.
“We hope it’s going to happen. And we’re looking forward to it happening sometime next week,” he said during a visit to Florida. “We want to get the hostages out.”
A source familiar with the discussions said that Ron Dermer, Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, had discussed a framework for moving towards proximity talks drawn up by the Qataris with Witkoff on Tuesday.
The person added that in the latest talks, Israel had indicated that it was prepared to compromise on the points to which the Israeli military would withdraw and on how humanitarian aid would be distributed during a ceasefire, but had not agreed to a permanent end to the war.
The renewed effort to reach a deal comes as Israeli forces press on with their 21-month-old offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 56,000 people, according to Palestinian officials, and fuelled a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.
This week, more than 20 people were killed by an Israeli strike on the Al-Baqa cafe in Gaza City, according to local officials.
During Hamas’s October 7th, 2023, attack, which triggered the war, militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and took another 250 hostage. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
