“All Bets Will Be Off”: Trump’s Fiery Ultimatum to Hamas as Gaza Burns

International

oi-Gaurav Sharma

Published: Sunday, October 5, 2025, 7:23 [IST]

In
a
storm
of
late-night
posts
on
Truth
Social,
US
President
Donald
Trump
sent
a
thunderous
message
to
Hamas
–
make
peace
with
Israel
now,
or
face
the
fire
again.

“Hamas
must
move
quickly,
or
else
all
bets
will
be
off,” Trump
declared.
“I
will
not
tolerate
delay…
Let’s
get
this
done,
FAST.”

The
words
echoed
across
global
capitals
as
smoke
still
rose
over
Gaza
City,
where
Israel’s
overnight
airstrikes
had
left
streets
in
ruins
and
families
mourning
their
dead.
Gaza’s
civil
defence
agency
counted
at
least
57
killed
since
dawn,
40
of
them
in
Gaza
City
alone
–
a
grim
backdrop
to
Trump’s
call
for
peace.

The
Push
for
a
Fragile
Truce

Behind
the
scenes,
the
White
House
was
in
motion.
Trump’s
son-in-law
Jared
Kushner
and
trusted
envoy
Steve
Witkoff
were
already
en
route
to
Egypt,
carrying
what
insiders
called
the
“final
blueprint”
–
a
plan
to
free
hostages
and
end
a
two-year
war
that
has
defied
every
diplomatic
effort.

Hamas,
cornered
yet
cautious,
had
signaled
readiness
to
release
all
hostages
and
engage
in
peace
talks.
It
was
the
first
glimmer
of
compromise
in
months.
But
even
as
Trump
thanked
Israel
for
its
temporary
pause
in
bombing,
jets
thundered
back
into
Gaza’s
skies,
striking
what
Israeli
officials
described
as
“operational
targets.”

Tension
Between
Words
and
War

Washington
urged
restraint;
Tel
Aviv
insisted
on
security.
The
gap
between
diplomacy
and
destruction
widened
by
the
hour.
Trump’s
allies
whispered
that
the
President
wanted
a
“historic
moment”
–
a
peace
deal
that
would
reshape
the
Middle
East
before
the
next
election.

But
on
the
ground,
hope
and
horror
were
colliding.
Every
new
explosion
in
Gaza
threatened
to
bury
the
fragile
talks
before
they
could
take
root.

As
Kushner’s
plane
descended
toward
Cairo,
the
stakes
could
not
have
been
higher.
One
wrong
move
–
one
delayed
promise
–
and
Trump’s
words
might
prove
prophetic.

Because
in
his
own
warning,
carved
across
the
digital
world
like
a
line
in
the
sand,
the
message
was
unmistakable:

“All
bets
will
be
off.”