Israel’s defence minister told Hamas on Monday to lay down its arms or face annihilation, after US President Donald Trump said the militant group must accept a deal to release hostages in Gaza.
The warnings came as the Israeli military intensified its bombings and operations around Gaza City, which it has vowed to capture in a bid to finally defeat Hamas after nearly two years of devastating conflict.
At least 48 people were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza on Sunday, while another 10 were killed in strikes around Gaza City overnight, the civil defence agency reported. AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment.
Hamas, whose unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war, said shortly after Trump’s comments that it was ready for immediate talks, but the terms it gave for a deal appeared largely unchanged from previous rounds of negotiations.
“This is a final warning to the Hamas murderers and rapists in Gaza and in luxury hotels abroad: Release the hostages and put down your weapons — or Gaza will be destroyed and you will be annihilated,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X.
“Today, a massive hurricane will hit the skies of Gaza City and the roofs of the terror towers will tremble,” he wrote, adding that the military was “preparing to expand” operations to conquer Gaza City.
Israel has not publicly announced the start of its offensive to seize the city, but on Sunday it bombed a third high-rise in as many days, saying it was being used by Hamas “to monitor the location of… troops in the area”.
Hamas has denied using residential buildings for military purposes.
Trump said Sunday he was issuing a “last warning” to the group, insisting it accept a deal to release the hostages seized during militants’ October 2023 attack. The Israeli military says 47 hostages remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.
“The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning,” Trump said on social media, without elaborating further.
In a statement released shortly after Trump’s, Hamas said it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” following what it described as “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement”.
In exchange, it said it wanted “a clear declaration of the end of the war, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the formation of a committee of independent Palestinians to manage the Gaza Strip, which would begin its duties immediately”.
US news outlet Axios reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff sent a new proposal for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal to Hamas last week.
The White House has not released any details about the proposal, but late Sunday Trump said “you’ll be hearing about it pretty soon”, portraying the negotiations in a positive light.
“I think we’re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon,” he told reporters.
In early March, Trump issued a similar ultimatum to Hamas, demanding it free all living hostages immediately and turn over the bodies of the dead, saying if not, “it is OVER for you”.
Hamas agreed last month to a ceasefire proposal that involved a 60-day truce and staggered hostage releases.
Israel, however, has demanded the militant group release all the hostages at once, disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military.
