The Trump administration tried—again—to broker a deal that would get Israeli hostages home and give Gazans some breathing room. Jerusalem was quick to accept. Hamas, believing it can still walk away with a win, dug in its heels, tossed the plan back, and complained that it was biased in favor of Israel.

US envoy Steve Witkoff didn’t mince words in publicly labeling Hamas’s response as “unacceptable” and blaming Gaza’s terrorist rulers for setting back efforts to end the war.

Responding in a social media post on X, Witkoff signaled that the proposal is a take-it-or-leave-it offer, and that Hamas needs to back down and accept.

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@POTUS @VP @SecRubio @SecDef @CIADirector @DNIGabbard @SusieWiles @USAmbIsrael @StephenM @PressSec @StevenCheung47 @lightstonea @LindseyGrahamSC

I received the Hamas response to the United States’ proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward.

Hamas should…

— Office of the Special Envoy to the Middle East (@SE_MiddleEast) May 31, 2025

The terms of the latest Witkoff proposal as reported by Israeli media were as follows:

• 60-day official ceasefire;
• 5 live hostages and 9 dead hostages released on the first day;
• 5 live and 9 dead hostages released on the seventh day;
• President Donald Trump publicly guarantees that the parties will respect the deal;
• Israel immediately halts all offensive military operations in Gaza;
• Israel releases 125 terrorists serving life sentences, as well as 1,111 Gazan prisoners who were arrested after October 7, 2023;
• Israel returns 180 bodies of Gazans, also in two stages;
• On the tenth day, Hamas delivers a complete list that includes a detailed medical report on the condition of the remaining live hostages;
• The US, Egypt, and Qatar will be guarantors of the ceasefire, while mediating negotiations on a more permanent resolution.

Hamas’s primary deviations were than it wanted to release the Israeli hostages spread out over the entire 60 days, and it demanded a guarantee that this would lead to a permanent ceasefire (ie. the war is over, now). For Israel, the war cannot end while Hamas still holds hostages, and remains armed and in control of the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reacted to these latest developments by reminding Western critics, in particular the UK and France, that Hamas, not Israel, is the obstacle:

“If France and the UK want to reach a ceasefire, pressure should be put on Hamas, which continues to say ‘no,’ instead of attacking Israel, which says ‘yes’.”

Sa’ar also noted the obvious: Hamas started this war with the Oct. 7 massacre and keeps it going by clinging to hostages and rockets. Israeli leaders have repeatedly stressed that the war could end today if Hamas surrendered, laid down its arm, and returned the remaining hostages.

Speaking at an international gathering on Holocaust commemoration held in Jerusalem last week, Israel President Isaac Herzog also sought to remind Western leaders that this is a war of good against evil.

“We are dealing with a genocidal, jihadist organization,” Herzog stressed. “When they see criticism—even from states like Canada, Australia, Britain, or France—they sometimes immediately hail that criticism, without understanding that we all share the same vision: combating terror, combating antisemitism, and demanding the immediate release of our hostages.”

No more excuses

Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that given Hamas’s latest refusal, it is time to stop playing the diplomatic game and to focus on militarily defeating the enemy:

“Mr. Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the proposal again, there is no longer any excuse, for anyone, to continue with this back-and-forth in Gaza. We have already missed enough opportunities. It is time to go in with all our might, to destroy, kill, and annihilate Hamas.”

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli insisted that the only acceptable outcome is total victory:

“Stop this salami tactic. Our soldiers must finish the job—Hamas must raise the white flag and lay down its weapons. All hostages—in exchange for the possibility of the surviving Hamas leaders withdrawing from Gaza.”

The yellow ribbon that symbolises solidarity with the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, plowed in a field outside Kibbutz Ruhama, southern Israel, May 30, 2025. Photo by Edi Israel/Flash90

Defense minister lays down the ultimatum

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that by again rejecting the Witkoff proposal as-is, the group faced total destruction and had damned Gaza to even greater devastation.

His office spelled out the IDF’s current playbook: Israeli forces are “striking and dismantling Hamas strongholds… attacking the area from the air, land and sea on an unprecedented scale,” all while evacuating civilians before the shooting starts. After each sweep, troops stay put—“following the Rafah model”— to make sure Hamas doesn’t crawl back.

“In this way, we will achieve the objectives of the war: the release of all hostages and the defeat and destruction of Hamas,” said Katz.

What’s the “Rafah Model”?

In the southern Gaza border town of Rafah, Israeli forces recently moved back in, systematically collapsing terror tunnels, flattening booby-trapped buildings, and clearing the terrain of explosives. Unlike previous operations, Israeli forces then remained in the area, preventing the return of Hamas forces.

It is a scorched-earth strategy that is putting enormous pressure on the Gaza population and depriving Hamas of tactical assets. It’s the approach many felt Israel should have employed from the start of the war, but which others argue wasn’t possible until Trump returned to the White House.

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