Hamas 'put in a corner' with new ultimatum from Donald Trump

Hamas officials were last night examining a 21 US peace ultimatum to lay down their arms - even as war raged across the Strip, killing at least 46 Palestinians.

Among Gaza’s latest dead were a mother and her six children who died in a missile strike on their apartment block in Deir al-Balah, in the centre of the enclave. More victims were injured in that attack and three people were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in a coast-side camp complex of refugees in al-Mawsi.

Others died in large scale attacks across the Strip that intensified from dawn onwards on Tuesday morning. Just hours before the latest Israeli onslaught, at midnight on Monday Hamas was handed the written peace proposal which has emerged as an ultimatum. Earlier US President Donald Trump the militants have just “three of four days” to agree to the deal. If the document is agreed it will be the closest the Middle East has been to peace since war broke out with a bloody Hamas attack on southern Israel in 2023.

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The war has killed at least 66,000 Palestinians and almost 2,000 Israelis including civilians and soldiers, bitterly threatening to see the region explode with violence. Hamas said it will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan within the group and with other Palestinian factions before responding.

The proposals, accepted by Israel, allow Gazans to remain in the Strip, offer amnesty to Hamas fighters, demands an end to the war and crucially the immediate return of hostages. Once all 50 remaining hostages are returned, including 20 who are thought still alive, 250 life sentence Palestinians will be freed, along with other prisoners and Palestinian dead.

Hamas would be banished from the Strip, a new police force introduced, plus de-radicalisation programmes and Gaza agreeing to live in peace next to Israel. A board of peace would be headed by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to supervise Gaza before a Palestinian authority is formed.

But Donald Trump warned: ‘If Hamas rejects the deal’ then Netanyahu would be able to “do what he has to do,” meaning more military action. He told reporters he would give Hamas “three or four days…” to respond to the peace offering. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already thrown his support behind it but it is unclear whether Hamas will agree and when it would give its response.

The proposal demands that Hamas effectively surrender and disarm in return for an end to fighting, humanitarian aid for Palestinians and the promise of reconstruction in Gaza. Meanwhile, backing and support were pouring in for the proposal from the international community, including from Britain and other European countries.

France and Italy, as well as Arab and Muslim countries, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan are also said to have approved it. Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the news, saying in a statement: “The new US initiative to deliver an end to the war in Gaza is profoundly welcome and I am grateful for President Trump’s leadership.

“We strongly support his efforts to end the fighting, release the hostages and ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza. This is our top priority and should happen immediately." But extremists on both sides were furious with the news of the peace plan.

Leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziad Al-Nakhaleh, who heads Gaza’s second biggest militant group, said the plan is: “an American–Israeli agreement that fully reflects Israel’s position and a recipe for continued aggression against the Palestinian people.” Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich branded the proposed peace plan a "resounding diplomatic failure" which is "turning a blind eye and turning one's back on all the lessons of October 7th.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed attempts at "ending the ongoing tragedy" and said Moscow officials "wish that this plan is implemented and helps achieve peace…” The UN said it is prepared to increase aid deliveries into Gaza whenever possible and as part of the deal that would be allowed in immediately.

Deliveries by U.N. agencies and its partners have been limited in recent months as Israel has allowed a separate organization - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - to ferry in aid. Trump's plan says that aid entries will proceed "without interference" by Israel or Hamas "through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing calls "on all relevant parties" to "immediately achieve a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza…” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz thanked Trump for his "persistent efforts" and thanked Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East for their "influence" with Hamas.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the U.S. peace proposal and called for a two-state solution, saying it was "the only possible one" for the Middle East. He added: "It is time for the violence to cease, for the immediate release of all the hostages to take place, and for humanitarian aid to be provided to the civilian population.”

French President Emmanuel Macron says he welcomes Trump's "commitment to ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of all hostages." A senior Hamas official the group's leaders will hold internal discussions as well as talks with other Palestinian factions before they respond to the Trump proposal.

The official added that Hamas received the proposal from the two Mideast mediators - Egypt and Qatar - and "will begin studying it today" with other factions. There was no indication when Hamas could give its response to the plan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday welcomed Trump's announcement of a plan to end the Gaza conflict.

He said: "It provides a viable pathway to long term and sustainable peace, security and development for the Palestinian and Israeli people, as also for the larger West Asian region," Australia last month joined Britain and Canada in formally recognizing a Palestinian state, prompting an angry response from Israel, which ruled out the prospect.

The Palestinian Authority pledged to implement reforms in order to return to Gaza and potentially clear the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state. It said: "The State of Palestine welcomes the sincere and determined efforts of President Donald J. Trump to end the war on Gaza and affirms its confidence in his ability to find a path toward peace.

"We have affirmed our desire for a modern, democratic, and nonmilitarized Palestinian state, committed to pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power. Trump's 20-point plan for ending the war and establishing a postwar Gaza governance does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it.

Remaining hostages would have to be released by Hamas within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan and then Palestinian prisoners would be released. The plan would effectively put the territory and its more than two million people under international control.

Hamas would have no part in administering Gaza, and all its military infrastructure - including tunnels - would be dismantled. The international security force would keep order and train Palestinian police to take over law enforcement. Egypt has said it is training thousands of Palestinian police to deploy to Gaza.