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Hamas Under Pressure as Trump Issues Deadline on Gaza Peace Plan

An idle Ferris wheel stands near tents at a camp for displaced people in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 29, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
An idle Ferris wheel stands near tents at a camp for displaced people in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 29, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Hamas Under Pressure as Trump Issues Deadline on Gaza Peace Plan

An idle Ferris wheel stands near tents at a camp for displaced people in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 29, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
An idle Ferris wheel stands near tents at a camp for displaced people in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 29, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

US President Donald Trump gave Hamas three to four days on Tuesday to accept a US-backed peace plan for Gaza, warning of "a very sad end" if the group rejected the proposal that he said was close to ending the two-year-old conflict. 

Mediators Qatar and Egypt shared the 20-point plan with Hamas late on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had appeared alongside Trump at the White House and endorsed the document, saying it satisfied Israel’s war aims. 

Hamas was not involved in the negotiations that led to the proposal, which calls on the group to disarm, a demand it has previously rejected. However, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters that the group "would review it in good faith and provide a response". 

PLAN SPECIFIES IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE AND HOSTAGE RELEASE 

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump said Israeli and Arab leaders had already endorsed the plan and that "we’re just waiting for Hamas" to make its decision. He gave the group "three or four days" to respond. 

"Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it’s not, it’s going to be a very sad end," Trump said as he left the White House. Asked whether there was scope for further talks on the proposal, he replied: "Not much." 

The plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body. 

A source close to Hamas told Reuters the plan was "completely biased to Israel" and imposed "impossible conditions" that aimed to eliminate the group. 

Many elements of the 20 points have been included in numerous ceasefire deals proposed over the last two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Israel and Hamas. 

One of Hamas’s main conditions since the outset of the war has been a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of the remaining hostages. And while the group has indicated its readiness to relinquish administrative authority, it has consistently ruled out disarming. 

"What Trump has proposed is the full adoption of all Israeli conditions, which do not grant the Palestinian people or the residents of the Gaza Strip any legitimate rights," a Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. 

CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE ON HAMAS 

However, Hamas faces considerable pressure to accept the plan, with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt all welcoming the initiative. 

Türkiye's head of intelligence will join Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha to discuss the peace proposal later on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry said. Türkiye has not previously been involved as a key mediator during efforts over the last two years to bring peace to Gaza. 

It was unclear if Hamas officials would join Tuesday's meeting. The last time Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a US peace plan in Qatar, Israel tried, and failed, to kill them with a missile strike. 

Netanyahu apologized on Monday to his Qatari counterpart for the September 9 attack, the White House said. 

Although he initially backed the Trump plan, Netanyahu later expressed doubts about elements of the proposal, including the prospects for eventual Palestinian statehood -- something he has repeatedly ruled out. 

Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from a war-weary Israeli public to end the conflict. But he also risks the collapse of his governing coalition if far-right ministers believe he has made too many concessions for a peace deal. 

ISRAELI FORCES PUSH FURTHER INTO GAZA CITY 

In Gaza itself, some Palestinians hailed Trump's peace plan, saying it could end the bombardment and deaths, but they wondered whether it would end Israel's control of the enclave. 

"We want the war to end, but we want the occupation army that killed tens of thousands of us to get out and leave us alone," said Salah Abu Amr, 60, a father of six from Gaza City. 

"We hope the plan will end the war, but we are not sure it will, neither Trump nor Netanyahu can be trusted," he told Reuters via a chat app. 

Israel began its Gaza offensive after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages back to Gaza. The offensive has killed over 66,000 people in Gaza, Gaza health authorities say. 

Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City on Tuesday, reaching the center of the territory, which Netanyahu has described as the last Hamas bastion. 

Israeli planes also dropped new leaflets over the city ordering Palestinians to immediately leave and head south. 

"The battle against Hamas is decisive and will not end until it is defeated," the leaflet said in red writing. 

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Arab World

Baghdad Sends Team to Saudi Arabia, UAE to Trace Attacks

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (AFP)
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Baghdad Sends Team to Saudi Arabia, UAE to Trace Attacks

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (AFP)

A senior Iraqi security team will soon travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to request intelligence on the trajectory and launch sites of attacks that targeted the two countries, an Iraqi government official said on Thursday, as part of an ongoing investigation.

The Iraqi official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the Ministerial Council for National Security, at its latest meeting chaired by Prime Minister and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Ali al-Zaidi, approved the formation of an investigative committee into the attacks, including two teams, one of which will travel to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The Iraqi government said on Wednesday it would take “all measures against those involved” if it was proven that Iraqi territory had been used as a launchpad for attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

It said a special committee had been formed to coordinate with the relevant authorities in both countries and to follow up on the ongoing investigations.

The Iraqi official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the investigative team would use evidence and radar maps to track the parties involved.

“The investigative committee will submit its final report to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as soon as it completes its work,” they said.

Earlier, Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, said in a statement that the Ministerial Council for National Security had discussed the continuing investigations into the attacks that targeted Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

He said a special committee had been formed to contact officials in the two countries, and that the prime minister had ordered that all measures be taken against those involved if it was proven that Iraqi territory had been used as a launchpad for the attacks.

Separately, the Coordination Framework alliance said in a statement late on Wednesday that it rejected any attack or aggression targeting neighboring or Arab countries, stressing “the importance of respecting the sovereignty of states and sparing the region further tension.”

It also called on security agencies to complete the ongoing investigations and take the necessary measures to protect Iraq’s security and sovereignty.

The UAE demanded that the Iraqi government urgently and unconditionally prevent “all hostile acts” emanating from its territory, following a drone attack that targeted the Barakah nuclear power plant.

Saudi Arabia condemned the attack on the UAE “in the strongest terms,” saying it categorically rejected attacks that threaten the region’s security and stability.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry stressed the Kingdom’s full solidarity with the UAE and its support for all measures taken by Abu Dhabi to preserve its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

On the security front, Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service announced the opening of an intelligence coordination center within the Counter Terrorism Forces Command, in a move it said was aimed at strengthening the agency’s intelligence capabilities and unifying efforts among different intelligence units.

The Counter Terrorism Service said in a statement that its chief, Staff Lieutenant General Karim al-Tamimi, visited the headquarters of the Counter Terrorism Forces Command and opened the intelligence coordination center.

It said the center aimed to strengthen and unify intelligence efforts, increase the intelligence capabilities of the agency’s personnel, and enhance coordination and cooperation among different intelligence units.

Arab World

Hezbollah Shifts Fight to Counter Israeli Expansion Attempts

Officials carry the bodies of victims killed in the Israeli strike on the southern village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, outside Jabal Amel Hospital in the Tyre area of south Lebanon, before the bodies were transferred to their hometown for burial, as security conditions prevented families from holding the farewell ceremony in the village, on May 21, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)
Officials carry the bodies of victims killed in the Israeli strike on the southern village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, outside Jabal Amel Hospital in the Tyre area of south Lebanon, before the bodies were transferred to their hometown for burial, as security conditions prevented families from holding the farewell ceremony in the village, on May 21, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)
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Hezbollah Shifts Fight to Counter Israeli Expansion Attempts

Officials carry the bodies of victims killed in the Israeli strike on the southern village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, outside Jabal Amel Hospital in the Tyre area of south Lebanon, before the bodies were transferred to their hometown for burial, as security conditions prevented families from holding the farewell ceremony in the village, on May 21, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)
Officials carry the bodies of victims killed in the Israeli strike on the southern village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, outside Jabal Amel Hospital in the Tyre area of south Lebanon, before the bodies were transferred to their hometown for burial, as security conditions prevented families from holding the farewell ceremony in the village, on May 21, 2026. (Photo by KAWANT HAJU / AFP)

Hezbollah sent a message to Arab and other embassies in Lebanon on Thursday, setting out its demands to their governments: an end to assassinations, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, the return of residents to their villages, and the release of detainees held by Israel.

It said the issue of its weapons should be addressed through “internal dialogue.”

The move came as military operations continued in south Lebanon, including an explosion in one village on the third line from the Israeli border, while Hezbollah focused on countering what it sees as Israeli attempts to expand deeper into Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah is trying to prevent any further Israeli advance in south Lebanon aimed at tightening control over villages within or around the “yellow line.” Security sources in the south told Asharq Al-Awsat the group’s pressure is concentrated on likely points of new incursions, especially around Zawtar in the eastern sector on the Litani River bank.

They said Israeli forces were trying to push through those vulnerable areas toward Lebanon’s interior, whether in Zawtar or Hadatha.

Israeli forces advanced on Wednesday into the eastern neighborhood of Hadatha, a town on the third line of border villages. Hezbollah said it had confronted the advance from several directions.

Local sources said later on Wednesday that Israeli forces carried out an explosion in the eastern neighborhood, alongside heavy air and artillery strikes on the town.

The advance began from Rshaf, a town on the second line of border villages. Rshaf is adjacent to Debel, a Christian town, many of whose residents have been displaced to the Christian towns of Rmeish and Ain Ebel, while others fled to areas deeper inside Lebanon during the third week of the expanded war.

Security sources in South Lebanon said Hezbollah intensified its operations in the area to prevent Israeli forces from entering Hadatha and seizing it.

They said the group had “concentrated its military weight in that area, in the face of an Israeli military weight focused on the same area to advance inland.”

The intensity was reflected in Hezbollah statements announcing rocket salvos and suicide drone attacks on gatherings of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers in Debel and Rshaf, as well as attacks around Hadatha “with attack drones and heavy rocket salvos in repeated waves.”

On the Israeli side, the Hebrew website Walla reported that Colonel Meir Biderman, commander of the 401st Brigade, was wounded in a Hezbollah attack in Debel.

It quoted a military source as saying Biderman “entered a building in south Lebanon that was known to be protected in order to sleep there, then came under attack by a drone.”

The source said the brigade commander was seriously wounded when the drone exploded.

(COMBO) This combination of handout satellite images taken by Planet Labs PBC shows views of the village of Yaroun in southern Lebanon close to the border with Israel on (top L to R followed by bottom L to R) October 5, 2024; January 10, 2025; January 30, 2025; and on May 2, 2026. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)

3,089 killed

Air and artillery strikes continued inside Lebanon. The Health Ministry said 3,089 people had been killed and 9,397 wounded from March 2 to May 21.

The escalation also continued on the ground. An Israeli drone struck a motorcycle in Froun, killing its driver. Artillery fire hit Kfar Dounin, Baraachit, Mansouri, Beit Yahoun and Touline. Israeli warplanes struck Ghandouriyeh.

Israeli warplanes also raided the outskirts of Touline and the road between Toura and Jennata in the Tyre district.

An Israeli drone dropped sound bombs near farmers in Haniyeh, south of Tyre, without causing casualties.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Deir El Zahrani on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)

Hezbollah turns to Western and Arab states

Against that backdrop, Hezbollah, through its parliamentary Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, turned to foreign and Arab diplomatic missions in Beirut. The message addressed governments on the situation in the south and sought to justify the fighting there.

In a memo explaining the field situation during the 15 months before it joined Iran’s support war, the bloc said political and diplomatic efforts “did not lead to a halt to these Israeli crimes against our country.”

It said the Lebanese government had failed to compel “the occupying entity” and the sponsors of the agreement to implement it, while the committee tasked with applying the agreement, “the mechanism,” had deliberately failed to do its job, worsening the suffering of the Lebanese people.

The bloc said: “Our demand as Lebanese, and the demand of everyone keen on the sovereignty, independence and freedom of their country, is to stop all forms of aggression against our national sovereignty by air, land and sea, to halt hostile actions, including the assassination of citizens and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, homes and public and private institutions, the withdrawal of the Israeli enemy army from our land to the internationally recognized borders, the return of residents to their villages and their reconstruction, and the release of detainees from occupation prisons.”

It added: “As for other issues linked to protecting Lebanon, they are a Lebanese matter that can be addressed through internal dialogue leading to the completion of a national security strategy to which all Lebanese commit,” a reference to Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Arab World

Building Collapse Kills 11 People in Morocco's Fez

The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
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Building Collapse Kills 11 People in Morocco's Fez

The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)

Eleven people were killed and six others injured when a four-storey building collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Rabat, state-owned broadcaster 2M said on Thursday.

Authorities said a search for others who might still be buried was ongoing. Media showed footage of rescuers and residents digging through the rubble, Reuters reported.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, and residents of adjacent buildings were asked to evacuate as a precaution against potential further collapses, authorities said.

Fez, a former capital dating back to the eighth century and the country's third-most-populous city, has seen similar incidents in recent months, including one in December when two buildings collapsed, killing at least 22 people.

In 2010, the collapse of a minaret in the historic northern city of Meknes killed 41 people.

Adib Ben Ibrahim, housing secretary of state, said last year that approximately 38,800 buildings across the country had been classified as being at risk of collapse.