• UN Human Rights chief says he’s ‘horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric’ by Israeli officials
• Israel’s defence minister asks Hamas to ‘lay down arms’ or ‘face annihilation’
• Netanyahu tells residents of Gaza City to evacuate; four Israeli soldiers killed
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was issuing a “last warning” to Hamas, saying the Palestinian group must accept a deal to release Israeli prisoners.
“The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning,” Donald Trump said on social media.
“We had some very good discussions. Good things could happen,” he told reporters. “I think we’re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told residents of Gaza City on Monday to evacuate, and the military said four soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip when an unidentified person “lobbed an explosive device into their tank”.
In response to Trump’s comments, Hamas said it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” following “some ideas received from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement”.
In exchange for a truce, Hamas said it wanted “a clear declaration of the end of the war, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the formation of a committee of independent Palestinians to manage the Gaza Strip, which would begin its duties immediately”.
Hamas agreed last month to a ceasefire proposal that involved a 60-day truce and staggered prisoner releases.
Israel, however, has demanded that Hamas release all the prisoners at once, disarm itself and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions.
In Geneva, United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said he was “horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric by senior Israeli officials”.
‘Face annihilation’
Israel’s defence minister warned Hamas on Monday to “lay down your arms” or “face annihilation”.
“This is a final warning to Hamas: release the hostages (prisoners) and put down your weapons or Gaza will be destroyed and you will be annihilated,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X
The Israeli minister threatened that “today, a massive hurricane will hit the skies of Gaza City”, where he said the military was “preparing to expand” operations.
Israel has stepped up operations, levelling high-rise buildings in Gaza City which it has vowed to capture, despite mounting international pressure to stop the bombardment.
‘Genocidal rhetoric’
The UN rights chief accused Israeli officials of using overt “genocidal rhetoric” about Gaza and called for decisive international action to “end the carnage”.
In a speech to the UN Human Rights Council that was criticised by Israel, Volker Turk said the occupied Palestinian territory was already “a graveyard”.
He stressed that “the region is crying out for peace”.
Turk accused Israel of inflicting indescribable suffering and wholesale destruction.
“I am horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric and the disgraceful dehumanisation of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials.”
“Further militarisation, occupation, annexation and oppression will only feed more violence, retribution and terror,” Volker Turk warned.
He insisted Israel had “a legal obligation to take the steps ordered by the International Court of Justice to prevent acts of genocide, punish incitement to genocide and ensure enough aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza”.
The UN rights chief said the international community was “failing the people of Gaza”.
“Where are the decisive steps to prevent genocide,” he wondered.
Ravina Shamdasani, the spokeswoman for Volker Turk, said “shocking and dehumanising language” has been used by a number of high-level officials, stressing that “this is not a case of one senior official mouthing off”.
Two teens killed in Jenin
The Palestinian health ministry said that the Israeli military killed two teenagers at a refugee camp in Jenin on Monday.
The two victims were named by the ministry as Islam Abdel Aziz Nouh Majarmeh and Muhammad Sari Omar Masqala, both aged 14.
Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that the two boys were killed after Israeli soldiers “opened fire at a group of civilians who attempted to inspect their houses in the camp and retrieve some of their belongings”.
