Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz issued a stark ultimatum to Hamas on Friday evening, demanding the terror group accept the ceasefire arrangement brokered by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff—or face complete destruction.
“The IDF continues its operations in Gaza with full force, striking and dismantling Hamas strongholds while evacuating the local population from all combat zones and attacking the area from the air, land, and sea on an unprecedented scale to provide maximum protection for our soldiers ahead of the entry of maneuvering forces into every area and during the maneuver,” said Katz.
He emphasized that protecting Israeli troops remains the military’s top priority. “Our primary commitment is to the safety of our heroic soldiers, both regular and reservists, above all other considerations,” he added.
Katz laid out the IDF’s broader strategy, explaining that after clearing each area of terrorists, the army will follow the same playbook used in Rafah—eliminate threats, secure control, and maintain a presence to ensure stability. “After neutralizing the terrorists and clearing the area, the IDF eliminates any threat based on the Rafah model—and remains to hold the ground. In this way, we will achieve the war’s objectives: the release of all hostages while subduing and defeating Hamas,” stated Katz.
He closed his remarks with a direct message to Hamas leadership: “Hamas murderers will now have to choose: accept the terms of the ‘Witkoff Deal’ for the release of the hostages – or be eliminated,” the Defense Minister concluded.
Katz’s comments followed a statement from Hamas indicating they were still weighing their response. “Hamas is holding discussions with other Palestinian factions regarding the ceasefire proposal, which Hamas recently received from Mr. Witkoff through the mediators.”
On Thursday, regional news outlets Al Arabiya and Al Hadath reported that Hamas and Israel had reached an agreement on a 60-day truce, and that President Trump would soon disclose the full details of the accord.
But an Israeli diplomatic source quickly refuted the report, insisting that Jerusalem had not been informed of any acceptance from Hamas regarding Witkoff’s offer.
Later that same day, a high-ranking Hamas leader issued a tempered response: “Witkoff’s new proposal does not meet our demands, but we are still examining it.”
Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu had already met with the families of Israeli hostages to inform them that Israel had accepted the ceasefire plan laid out by Witkoff.
Still, Netanyahu made it clear that this agreement does not signal a cessation of the military campaign in Gaza.
{Matzav.com}