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U.S. President Donald Trump delivered an ultimatum to Hamas on Friday, demanding the Palestinian militant group accept his ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal by Sunday evening or face unprecedented military action.
The president set a 6 p.m. Eastern Time deadline for Sunday, calling it Hamas's "last chance" to agree to the deal. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump warned that if the proposal is rejected, "all hell, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas."
Trump's stark language escalated diplomatic pressure as the Gaza conflict enters its second year. The president claimed that "more than 25,000 Hamas 'soldiers' have already been killed" as what he termed "retribution for the Oct. 7th (2023) attack on civilization."
"Most of the rest are surrounded and militarily trapped, just waiting for me to give the word, 'go,' for their lives to be quickly extinguished," Trump wrote, adding that remaining Hamas members would be "hunted down, and killed."
The president urged Palestinian civilians to evacuate what he described as an area "of potentially great future death" to "safer parts of Gaza," though he did not specify which region he was referencing. His warning comes as Israel has intensified operations in Gaza City in recent weeks.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has deepened dramatically since the conflict began. United Nations officials reported Thursday that more than 417,000 people have fled northern Gaza since mid-August, with many seeking shelter in southern areas already struggling with overcrowding and inadequate resources.
UN relief chief Tom Fletcher highlighted the deteriorating conditions on social media, noting that "fighting continues in Gaza City" and humanitarian access remains severely limited. Many aid organizations have been forced to suspend operations due to security concerns.
"Issuing displacement orders does not absolve parties to conflict from responsibilities: many civilians remain and must be protected," Fletcher emphasized.
The Gaza Strip, home to nearly 2.4 million people, has been under Israeli blockade for nearly 18 years. The siege tightened significantly in March when Israel closed border crossings and restricted food and medicine deliveries, contributing to famine conditions across the enclave.
Since the Oct. 2023 attacks, Israeli military operations have resulted in nearly 66,300 Palestinian deaths, with women and children comprising the majority of casualties, according to health authorities. International organizations, including the United Nations and human rights groups, have repeatedly warned that the territory is becoming uninhabitable as starvation and disease spread amid widespread displacement.
The ceasefire proposal represents Trump's first major Middle East diplomatic initiative since taking office, though details of the prisoner swap arrangement have not been publicly disclosed. Hamas has not yet responded to the ultimatum.
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