‘Move quickly, or else…’: Trump's warning to Hamas as his son-in-law on way to get Gaza plan going

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and senior US envoy Steve Witkoff headed to Egypt to finalise details of the hostage release by Hamas

Updated on: Oct 5, 2025, 24:48:53 IST

By HT News Desk

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After Israel was reported to have stopped the incessant bombing of Gaza, as a US-brokered peace plan finally appeared to be taking effect, President Donald Trump shott off a warning for Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday.

Displaced Palestinian children sit in a wheelchair by the side of a road, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in the central Gaza Strip on October 4, 2025. (Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)

“I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed. Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let’s get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and senior US envoy Steve Witkoff were, meanwhile, headed to Egypt to finalise details of the hostage release by Hamas, a White House official said after the group that ruled Gaza reacted positively to a peace plan to end two years of war.

The Israeli action, which killed over 66,000 Palestinians, came after Hamas carried out at an attack in Israel, killing around 1,200 people including combatants, in October 2023.

Hamas has said it's ready to release all hostages and discuss details on the 20-point peace plan put forth by Trump and backed by many countries, including the UK, France, India, Saudi Arabia and others.

Also read | ‘Approval to hand over…’: How Hamas reacted to Trump's peace plan. Full statement

Potential pitfalls remain. The precise timeline for implementing Trump's plan remains unclear, and some logistics may prove problematic because of Gaza's devastation.

Issues such as Hamas's disarmament and Israel's withdrawal appear unsettled.

Previous ceasefires during the war came to an end with Israel reviving its offensive and fighting resuming. This time, though, there has been an outcry across the globe against what many have termed genocide in Gaza.

The plan says the war would end immediately once both sides had agreed to the proposal.

Also read | What is Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan that Hamas partly agreed to? Full 20-point list

However, Hamas's response did not approve all of the 20 points, saying it would engage "through mediators, in negotiations to discuss the details of this process".

The plan said all hostages, alive and deceased, were due to be released within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting the agreement, but it was not clear at what precise point the clock on that 72-hour deadline would start ticking, given Netanyahu agreed to the timeline several days before Hamas responded.

Sources close to Hamas say handing over living hostages could prove relatively straightforward, but retrieving bodies of dead hostages amid the rubble of Gaza may take longer.

Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza out of the 251 seized by Hamas in their October 2023 assault, 20 of whom are alive.

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HT News Desk
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