The last warning from Katz and Trump to Hamas: release the hostages or Gaza will be destroyed
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz threatened on Monday to destroy Gaza and eliminate Hamas unless the group surrendered. He vowed to bomb additional residential towers, declaring, “Today, a massive hurricane will strike Gaza’s skies, and the rooftops of the towers of terror will shake,” following a similar warning issued by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Shortly after Trump’s message, Katz wrote on X that this was “the final warning” to Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza. “This is the ultimate warning to Hamas’s killers and rapists, whether in Gaza or in luxury hotels abroad: release the hostages and lay down your arms, or Gaza will be destroyed, and you will be wiped out.”
Katz added that the Israeli army continued its planning and was preparing to expand its maneuver to take control of Gaza.
Tel Aviv estimates that 48 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 still alive, while around 11,100 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel, where they reportedly endure torture, starvation, and medical neglect, with many having died according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups and media reports.
Last Friday, Israel launched an intensive campaign of gradual destruction targeting residential towers in Gaza, displacing thousands of Palestinians under catastrophic conditions.
Observers argue that this destruction is intended to force Palestinians to leave Gaza City for the south of the enclave, as part of a joint Israeli-American plan to forcibly displace them outside the territory.
On Sunday, Trump announced that he had delivered a “final warning” to Hamas regarding the release of Israeli hostages, while the Palestinian group said it was ready to engage immediately in negotiations based on new U.S. proposals.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote: “The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is now time for Hamas to do the same. I warned Hamas of the consequences of refusal. This is my last warning.”
The White House did not disclose details of these terms. However, according to Axios, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff sent Hamas a new proposal last week, through an Israeli peace activist, outlining a comprehensive deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire with Israel.
Hours later, Hamas declared in a statement that it was “ready immediately” to engage in talks after receiving the U.S. ideas. The movement said it had received “through mediators certain proposals from the U.S. side to reach a ceasefire agreement” and welcomed “any initiative that contributes to efforts to stop the aggression against our people.”
Hamas further stressed it was “ready immediately to sit at the negotiating table to discuss the release of all prisoners in exchange for a clear declaration ending the war, a complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Strip, and the immediate establishment of a committee of independent Palestinians to administer Gaza.”
In Israel, the Hostages Families Forum described this as “genuine progress.” It said in a statement: “The guarantee personally provided by the President of the United States is an unprecedented historic step. This agreement could pave the way for a broader regional settlement, ensure the release of all hostages, and allow soldiers and reservists to return home.”
Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed at least 64,455 people, most of them civilians, according to the latest figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the United Nations considers credible.
Civil Defense spokesman in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, reported that 48 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated earlier that Israel was “deepening” its offensive in Gaza’s largest city, while the Israeli army announced that it now controls 40 percent of Gaza City.
According to the United Nations, nearly one million people live in Gaza City and its surroundings. Many say they refuse to leave due to the absence of “safe” areas in an enclave devastated by destruction and facing a humanitarian catastrophe.
Although Israel has not officially announced a full-scale assault to seize Gaza City, the largest urban center in the enclave, the city has witnessed weeks of intensified bombardment and military operations. This week, the army began ordering evacuations of high-rise buildings, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, a charge denied by the movement.
The war has forced the vast majority of Gaza’s more than two million residents to flee multiple times. On Saturday, the army ordered civilians to evacuate Gaza City and head toward the “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi in the south, which it claimed was equipped with “humanitarian infrastructure” and supplied with food and medicine.
The dire humanitarian conditions, which led the United Nations to officially declare a famine in Gaza, have increased international pressure on Israel to end the war. Several Western countries have announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned against this move.
“The countries pushing for what is called recognition of a Palestinian state, such as France and the United Kingdom, are making a grave mistake,” he said. “The issue of statehood cannot be separated from peace, as doing so will make peace more difficult to achieve. A peace agreement can only be reached in a bilateral context.”
He warned that such recognition “would also push Israel to take unilateral decisions, which would be a grave mistake.”
Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah II reiterated his country’s “absolute rejection” of any Israeli measures to annex parts of the West Bank or forcibly displace Palestinians, according to a royal statement released during his visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
