Joe Coughlan & Amy Sedghi
The Guardian / May 31, 2025
Israel has said Hamas must accept a hostage deal in Gaza or ‘be annihilated’, as Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement was ‘very close’.
It comes amid dire conditions on the ground, with the United Nations warning that Gaza’s entire population was at risk of famine.
Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported that on Friday, defence minister Israel Katz said Hamas must agree to a ceasefire proposal presented by US envoy Steve Witkoff or be destroyed, after the Palestinian militant group said the deal failed to satisfy its demands. However, Hamas said it was still considering the text.
‘The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the ‘Witkoff deal’ for the release of the hostages – or be annihilated,’ said Katz.
Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war in Gaza have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in March after a short-lived truce.
In the US, the Trump told reporters ‘they’re very close to an agreement on Gaza’, adding: ‘We’ll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow.’
Meanwhile, food shortages in Gaza persist, with aid only trickling in after the partial lifting by Israel of a more than two-month blockade.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), called Gaza ‘the hungriest place on Earth’. He said:
It’s the only defined area – a country or defined territory within a country – where you have the entire population at risk of famine.
Joe Coughlan is a freelance news reporter
Amy Sedghi is a live blogger and reporter at The Guardian
