Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump touted his 20-point peace deal as the best way to end the two-year-old conflict in Gaza after Israel agreed to the terms yesterday.
“We’re just waiting for Hamas,” Trump said as he presented his deadline.
“Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it’s not, it’s going to be a very sad end,” he added, noting that there was “not much” room for negotiations.
Qatari mediators said Hamas, which was not involved in the talks that formed the proposal, was currently reviewing the deal in Doha.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said it was still too early to expect a response from the terror group, but he noted that mediators were “optimistic” about the outcome.
Trump’s plan calls for an immediate cease-fire, an exchange of all the 48 hostages, a staged withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the creation of a transitional government spearheaded by an international body.
While Hamas has previously agreed to some of these terms, the group has repeatedly rejected calls to demilitarize unless a pathway for a Palestinian state is granted.
Israel has repeatedly rejected such a prospect, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself expressing doubts about the details in Trump’s deal, which lays the groundwork for eventual Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu, however, supported the deal as he faces mounting pressure to end the war from the Israeli public, which continues nightly protests demanding the conflict end and the hostages be released.
While members of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition have repeatedly threatened to dissolve his government if the fighting stops, they have recently signaled their support for the US-backed deal.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has called for the Jewish state to annex the West Bank and Gaza, said he would not torpedo the deal despite slamming it as “a tragic case of leadership” and “illusion” of peace, the Times of Israel reported.
Hamas is also reportedly reluctant to accept Trump’s 20-point deal.
A source close to Hamas slammed the US-backed plan as being “completely biased to Israel,” according to Reuters.
Hamas, however, is facing its own pressure from Arab leaders to accept the deal and end the bloodshed in Gaza, with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt all green lighting the initiative.
