Gaza peace plan: ‘Trump will wait for 3-4 days for Hamas to respond,’ says White House

US President Donald Trump will wait “for 3-4 days for Hamas to respond” to the Gaza peace plan, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday at a press briefing. The proposal, unveiled this week and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, includes a call for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, the group's disarmament and a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

“President Trump will wait for 3-4 days for Hamas to respond to his Gaza peace deal. There are some very sensitive discussions taking place,” she said.

“All of the Arab countries are signed up. The Muslim countries are all signed up. Israel is 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 be a very sad end,” ANI quoted Trump as saying.

Trump stressed the urgency of the initiative, stating, "We want the hostages back immediately, and we want some good behaviour... You don't get simpler... We've signed every country in the Middle East. This is like an impossible thing that has never been done before. This is more than Gaza."

His comments followed the unveiling of a broad initiative aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The proposal has secured support from Israel, various Arab nations and other Muslim countries in the region, the report added.

Earlier, during the announcement of the Gaza peace plan at a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump said the Gaza peace proposal, “if accepted by Hamas”, would mean the “immediate end of the war itself”.

'We'll have actual peace in Middle East'

Donald Trump said, "If accepted by Hamas, this proposal calls for the release of all remaining hostages immediately, in 72 hours... It means the immediate end to the war itself, not just Gaza... Arab and Muslim countries have committed in writing to demilitarise Gaza, decommission the military capabilities of Hamas and all other terror organisations immediately... destroy all terror infrastructure, including the tunnels, weapons, and production facilities. They have a lot of production facilities that we're destroying."

He added, "I will let them go and do what they have to do. They can do it pretty easily. I would let them go and do what they have to do. You know, we've killed about 25,000 Hamas. So certainly they paid a big price for October 7. And this is a whole new group. You know, they come in and they come in and keep coming. But this is a whole different group, and their leadership has been killed three different times. So they paid a big price."

Trump added, “We hope that they're [Hamas] going to have a nice, calm life. Maybe it won't happen, but if it does, it will be one of the greatest things ever to happen. We'll have actual peace in the Middle East.”

(With inputs from agencies)