Hamas says it’s ‘ready to negotiate’ Gaza ceasefire deal after Trump’s ‘final warning’

Hamas released a carefully worded statement in which they said that they are ready to ‘immediately sit at the negotiating table’ after US President Donald Trump issued ‘his last warning’ to the Palestinian group. On Sunday, Trump made it clear that Hamas should accept his latest ceasefire/hostage release offer, describing it as his “final warning.”

In response to this, Hamas issued a statement stating that it is “ready to immediately sit at the negotiating table to discuss the release of all prisoners in exchange for a clear declaration to end the war, a total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and creation of a committee of independent Palestinians to run the Gaza Strip.”

“Hamas welcomes any move that helps the efforts to stop the aggression against our people,” the statement says, affirming that it received “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire.” The Palestinian militant group made it clear that it is in “constant contact with the mediators to turn these ideas into a comprehensive agreement that meets our demands.”

Trump says ‘Gaza deal will emerge soon’

While speaking to the reporters before heading back to Washington, DC, from New York, Trump said that there will be a ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas over Gaza “very soon”. Trump has been reiterating the same claim for a while.

“I think we’re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One. “It’s a hell of a problem,” he said. “It’s a problem we want to solve for the Middle East, for Israel, for everybody. It’s a problem we’re going to get done.”

Trump insisted that Hamas is holding hostages, “it could be a little bit less than 20 because they tend to die, even though they’re young people largely, they tend to die.” It is pertinent to note that of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, Israeli authorities believe that 26 of them are dead and 20 are still alive.

However, the fate of the other two hostages remains uncertain. In the past few weeks, Trump has claimed that fewer than 20 hostages are still alive, alarming their families. Israeli authorities have stated that their assessment remains unchanged. “We have, let’s say, 20 people and we have 38 bodies,” Trump told reporters.

He insisted that a deal would ensure that all hostages would be returned, dead or alive: “I think we’re going to get them all,” he concluded.