Trump expects Hamas response to ceasefire in hours as new details emerge on proposal
CNN
President Donald Trump has ramped up expectations around a possible 60-day ceasefire in the war in Gaza after he said Thursday that a response from Hamas was expected within the next day.
President Donald Trump has ramped up expectations around a possible 60-day ceasefire in the war in Gaza after he said Thursday that a response from Hamas was expected within the next day. Asked by a reporter whether Hamas has agreed to the latest ceasefire and hostage deal, Trump replied “We’ll see what happens, we’re going to know over the next 24 hours.” Qatar put forward an updated proposal to Israel and Hamas earlier this week, and Israel accepted it on Tuesday. Hamas says it will announce its decision after consultations with other Palestinian factions, without specifying how long this might take. Trump has pushed hard for a ceasefire, saying on Tuesday that Israel had “agreed to the necessary conditions” to finalize a deal for a 60-day cessation of hostilities. In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned Hamas to accept the proposal as well. “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,” he said, thanking Qatar and Egypt for their role in advancing the proposal. The latest proposal does not differ markedly from previous plans put forward by negotiators, maintaining the same number of hostages released and the same length of the earlier temporary ceasefire. But the proposal offers two key concessions to Hamas demands, spacing out the release of hostages over the entire timeline and offering stronger guarantees - in this case, directly from Trump - that the ceasefire will continue beyond 60 days even if a comprehensive agreement to end the war has not yet been reached.
