Donald Trump has said Hamas terrorists face “complete obliteration” if they fail to give up power in Gaza and agree to his peace plan. The bombastic Commander-in-Chief made the stark comments in a text to American broadcaster CNN when he was asked on Sunday what would happen if the terror group does not relinquish power over the territory.
The president’s comments come as Israeli and Hamas representatives head to Egypt for indirect talks on Monday ahead of an expected ceasefire this week. Hamas said in a statement it had only accepted some elements of the US peace plan, which calls for the release of all the Israeli hostages seized during the October 7 terror attack in return for an end of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
However, the militant group has not yet agreed to the idea of an international agency taking control of Gaza, being led by Donald Trump.
Egypt will host delegations from Israel and Hamas on Monday to discuss the proposed exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the country’s foreign ministry said. US envoy Steve Witkoff is also joining the talks, according to an Egyptian official.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the current situation is “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released” and the foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority countries issued a joint statement Sunday welcoming steps toward a possible ceasefire.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr Trump said there still could be more to negotiate, but that “everyone has pretty much agreed to it”, adding “But there’ll always be some changes, you get the hostages back almost immediately. Negotiations are going on right now, will probably take a couple of days.”
Despite the peace negotiations, pro-Palestine protesters continued to stretch police resources in Britain, Europe, North America, and Australia with large-scale demonstrations. The Metropolitan Police said 488 arrests were made for supporting the proscribed organisation Palestine Action, including six people who were detained for unfurling a banner backing the proscribed group on Westminster Bridge.
In Spain, 70,000 Gaza protesters marched in Barcelona. Scenes turned ugly after mobs vandalised shops which they claimed supported Israel. Eight arrests were made and 20 police officers were injured.
In Israel, tens of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night in support of the peace plan and to bring the hostages home.