Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas over Gaza hostages

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he was issuing a “last warning” to Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group must accept a deal to release hostages in Gaza. “The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning,” Trump said on social media, without elaborating further. In a statement released shortly after, Hamas said it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” following what it described as “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement”. US news outlet Axios reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff sent a new proposal for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal to Hamas last week. The White House has not released any details about the proposal but late Sunday Trump said “you’ll be hearing about it pretty soon”, as he portrayed the negotiations in a positive light. “We had some very good discussions. Good things could happen,” he told reporters. “I think we’re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon.” In early March, Trump issued a similar ultimatum to Hamas, demanding it free all remaining hostages immediately and turn over the bodies of dead hostages, saying if not, “it is OVER for you”. Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the US president’s latest intervention as a “true breakthrough”. Hamas militants seized 251 hostages during the massive October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, with 47 still believed to be in Gaza. The Israeli military says 25 of them are dead. Israel is seeking the return of their remains. The statements from Trump and Hamas came as Israel’s army bombed a Gaza City residential tower on Sunday - the third in as many days - after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the military was “deepening” its assault on the key urban centre. Witness Mohammed Al-Nazli told Agence France-Presse that the strike on the Al-Roya tower “felt like an earthquake”. At least 48 people were killed in Sunday’s Israeli attacks, according to Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal. The air force has levelled two other residential high-rises under the same claim that Hamas had used them as observation points. Netanyahu said on Sunday that around 100,000 residents had already left Gaza City, accusing Hamas of trying to prevent evacuations and of using civilians as “human shields”. The escalation has fuelled fears of a further deterioration in already dire humanitarian conditions for Palestinians living in the area. On Saturday, Israeli protesters took to the streets to call on their government to reverse the decision to seize Gaza City, fearing for the fate of hostages believed to be held there. The October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Israeli figures. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable. Meanwhile, Israel’s Ramon Airport near the southern city of Eilat resumed operations after being briefly shut on Sunday when a drone launched from Yemen struck the arrivals hall, Israel’s Airports Authority said. Two people were injured by shrapnel, the national ambulance service said. The Israeli military said in a statement posted on Telegram that the drone was detected by Israeli Air Force systems but was not classified as a hostile drone. Accordingly, the interception and alert systems were not activated. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking Ramon Airport with the drone, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement. The Iran-backed Houthis have been launching missiles and drones thousands of kilometres north towards Israel, in what the group says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has retaliated by bombing Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port. The direct hit on Israel from Yemen on Sunday would be the first major attack since Israel killed senior officials of the group in late August. In May, the Houthis struck near Israel’s Ben Gurion, the country’s main airport, in an attack that injured eight people. Additional reporting by Reuters

Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas over Gaza hostages

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president says Israel has accepted his terms, and suggests a Gaza deal could come soon

US president says Israel has accepted his terms, and suggests a Gaza deal could come soon