Two days after President Trump unveiled his plan to end the war in Gaza, officials in Washington, Jerusalem, and Doha are weighing next steps. Time is running out for Hamas to agree to the proposal and end the war and release all the hostages.
President Trump told reporters that Hamas has only a few days to accept or reject the plan.
“We’re going to do about three or four days. We’ll see how it is. All of the Arab countries are signed up. The Muslim countries all signed up, Israel’s all signed up. We’re just waiting for Hamas. And Hamas is either going to be doing it or not. And if it’s not, it’s going to a very sad end.”
He added that there is little room left for further negotiations.
“Not much. You know, with Hamas, we want very simple. We want the hostages back immediately. And we want some good behavior. And, you know, it’s pretty simple. You don’t get simpler. Think of it. We’ve signed every country in the Middle East. This is like an impossible thing. It’s never been done before. This is more than Gaza. Gaza was big stuff. But this is Gaza, is a piece of it!”
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with members of his government.
“In Washington, I agreed with President Trump on a plan for the release of all our hostages, and the achievement of all the war goals we set. I will provide a more detailed report to both the members of the government and the members of the cabinet.”
In Doha, Qatari officials are pressing Hamas to respond. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said,
“Regarding ending the war and bringing aid in, of course the first step now is reaching consensus on this plan with all parties. The Israeli side had initially expressed approval on the plan based on what had been agreed upon, but now, as we said, we are in the stage of consultations with the negotiating delegation of Hamas.”
Qatar said on Tuesday it will also hold mediation talks with Hamas and Turkey over the U.S.-proposed peace plan.
While Israelis have applauded the plan, expectations are low. The coming days will be critical. At the same time, Israel is preparing to shut down for Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the year for Jewish people. Many will fast for 25 hours and seek to reconcile with God and each other.
