WASHINGTON (BN24) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Israel has agreed to a proposed 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, urging Hamas to accept the terms and warning the group that rejecting the deal will only deepen the devastation.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump said in a statement posted to social media.
The announcement comes just days before Trump is scheduled to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday for talks expected to focus on the war in Gaza and broader regional security. The president has grown increasingly involved in ceasefire diplomacy after the United States helped broker an unprecedented peace agreement between Israel and Iran.
While Trump hailed the deal as a path to ending nearly 21 months of conflict, there was immediate uncertainty over whether Hamas would agree.
Hamas has insisted it will release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli military withdrawal and an end to the war — conditions Israel has categorically rejected. Israeli leaders have maintained that fighting will cease only if Hamas agrees to disarm, surrender, and remove its leadership from Gaza, demands the group continues to oppose.
Despite Hamas’s diminished capabilities and the collapse of much of its centralized command structure, the group has shown it remains capable of inflicting lethal attacks on Israeli forces, prolonging the fighting and complicating negotiations.
Trump’s declaration that this offer is his “best and final” could further harden positions. He has repeatedly issued stark ultimatums to Hamas to accept temporary pauses in fighting that would allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.
U.S. officials have indicated they see the proposed 60-day truce as a critical window to build momentum for a broader agreement that could end the war altogether.
Whether Hamas will trust Trump’s assurances remains uncertain, particularly after months of failed negotiations and continued Israeli military operations in Gaza’s southern and northern sectors.
The coming week could prove pivotal, as Netanyahu’s Washington visit is expected to generate new pressure on all sides to resolve the conflict.
