The US President issued a 'final warning' to Hamas regarding the hostage agreement.
On September 7, US President Donald Trump said he was issuing a "final warning" to Hamas, stating that the Palestinian Islamist movement must accept an agreement to release hostages in Gaza.
On the social media platform TruthSocial, Trump stated: "Everyone wants the hostages home. Everyone wants this war to end! The Israelis have accepted my conditions. It's time for Hamas to accept them too. I warned Hamas about the consequences if they didn't accept. This is my final warning, there will be no more."
In a statement released shortly afterward, Hamas declared its readiness to "immediately sit down at the negotiating table" after receiving what it described as "some ideas from the US side aimed at achieving a ceasefire agreement."
The American news agency Axios reported on the same day that White House envoy Steve Witkoff had sent a new proposal for a hostage agreement and ceasefire in Gaza to Hamas last week. The White House has not released any details.
In early March, Trump issued a similar ultimatum to Hamas, demanding the immediate release of all remaining hostages and the handover of the bodies of those who had died, saying that otherwise, "it will all be over."
Statements from the US president and Hamas came amid Israeli airstrikes on an apartment building in Gaza City – the third residential building hit in three days – after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the military was "intensifying" its offensive on the key urban center, and said around 100,000 residents had fled the area.
Witness Mohammed Al-Nazli told AFP that the attack on the Al-Roya tower "felt like an earthquake." The air force flattened two other high-rise residential buildings for the same reason, as Hamas had used them as observation posts.
The escalating move has raised concerns about a further deterioration of already harsh humanitarian conditions for Palestinians living in the area.
On September 6th, many Israelis took to the streets to march, calling on the government to reverse its decision to occupy Gaza City, expressing concern for the fate of hostages believed to be held there.
