Donald Trump has warned Hamas to ‘move quickly’ and release the hostages in Gaza or ‘all bets will be off’ amid efforts to broker a peace deal with Israel.
The president took to Truth Social on Saturday morning, issuing a sharp warning to the terrorist group to get the operation ‘done FAST.’
Twenty hostages remain in Hamas’ custody, along with the bodies of 28 others which the group has refused to return to Israeli families since its brutal attack on October 7, 2023.
Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the Israeli Defense Forces to stop their advance in Gaza City and scale back operations ‘to a minimum,’ signaling a major shift.
‘I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed,’ Trump wrote.
‘Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off,’ he added. ‘I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again.’
‘Let’s get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!’
On Monday, Trump hailed what he called, ‘potentially one of the great days ever in civilization,’ unveiling plans to rule Gaza as part of his initiative for ‘eternal peace in the Middle East’.
Donald Trump warned Hamas to ‘move quickly’ and release the hostages or else ‘all bets will be off’ amid efforts to broker a peace deal to end the violence in Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the Israeli Defense Forces to stop their advance in Gaza City and scale back operations ‘to a minimum’
Netanyahu ordered IDF soldiers to limit its actions to self-defense and abandon plans to occupy the city or evacuate its remaining residents
He vowed not only an ‘immediate end to the war’ in the Gaza strip, but the full resolution of ‘the whole deal’ to halt a conflict that has devastated the region for ‘thousands of years’.
Trump met Netanyahu at the White House with key cabinet officials on Monday, where an agreement on a new peace deal was reached.
The White House released the 20-point plan, which included increasing aid to Gaza and an economic development proposal that includes preferred tariffs and access rates.
He also demanded that Hamas release the bodies of dead Israeli captives before the Sunday deadline.
Hamas quickly agreed following Trump’s stark warning that ‘all hell’ would break loose if they did not comply.
The terror group further agreed to hand over Gaza’s administration to a panel of independent Palestinian technocrats, claiming the body would operate with ‘Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support’.
Netanyahu’s office said early Saturday that Israel was set to launch the ‘first stage’ of the plan.
IDF soldiers have been ordered to limit its actions to self-defense and abandon plans to occupy the city or evacuate its remaining residents.
Trump met Netanyahu at the White House with key cabinet officials on Monday (pictured), where an agreement on a new peace deal was reached
The White House released the 20-point plan, which included increasing aid to Gaza and an economic development proposal that includes preferred tariffs and access rates (pictured: Gaza City)
Following Trump’s stark warning that ‘all hell’ would be unleashed on Hamas if they did not comply to the proposal, the group quickly agreed to free all Israeli hostages and return the bodies of the deceased (pictured: Israeli hostage Emily Damari returning)
Twenty hostages are believed to remain in Hamas’ custody, along with the bodies of 28 others that the group has refused to return to Israeli families since its brutal attack (pictured: Gaza City air strike)
‘In light of the Hamas response [to the Trump peace plan], Israel is making preparations for the immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan which is the immediate release of all of the hostages,’ Netanyahu said in a statement.
‘We will continue to fully cooperate with the president and his team in order to end the war in accordance with the principles that Israel laid out and which are in line with President Trump’s vision,’ he added.
On Friday afternoon, Trump shared a video celebrating the deal, though he said he was still waiting to get the agreement ‘in concrete’ with both Hamas and Israel.
The president thanked Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey alongside others for having ‘helped me put this together.’
‘So many people fought so hard, this is a big day, we’ll see how it all turns out, we have to get the final word down in concrete,’ Trump said.
‘Most importantly, I look forward to having the hostages come home to their parents and having some of the hostages, unfortunately you know the condition they’re in, come home likewise to their parents, because their parents wanted them just as much as if that young man or young woman were alive,’ he added.
Hamas (pictured) agreed to hand over Gaza’s administration to a panel of independent Palestinian technocrats, claiming the body would operate with ‘Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support’
Netanyahu’s office said early Saturday that Israel was set to launch the ‘first stage’ of the plan (pictured: displaced Palestinian children)
On Friday afternoon, Trump shared a video celebrating the deal – though he said he was still waiting to get the agreement ‘in concrete’ with both Hamas and Israel
Following Hamas’ agreement, Trump took to Truth Social, declaring that he believes the group is acting in good faith.
‘Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,’ the president said.
Hamas rejected Trump’s plan to establish a ‘Board of Peace’ to govern Gaza – even with figures like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair proposed as members – and refused to completely disarm.
Hamas chief Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera: ‘We will never accept anyone who is not Palestinian to control the Palestinians. We can’t bring someone like Tony Blair to be governor in Gaza because this man, he destroyed Iraq.’
The Islamists said that other elements of Trump’s 20-point peace plan regarding the future of Gaza, ‘will be discussed through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework in which Hamas will participate and contribute responsibly.’
In an announcement, the jihadist group praised Trump, writing: ‘Hamas appreciates the Arab, Islamic, and international efforts, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump, calling for stopping the war on the Gaza Strip, exchanging prisoners, immediate entry of aid, rejecting the occupation of the Strip, and rejecting the displacement of our Palestinian people from it.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .