Donald Trump has warned Hamas that “it is OVER for you” unless it hands over the remaining hostages it holds in Gaza, hours after Washington said it had held direct talks with the militant group.
In his most belligerent remarks yet on the conflict, the US president added that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job” in the besieged strip, warning Gazans they would be “dead” if the hostages are not released.
“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” Trump wrote on Wednesday after meeting eight former hostages in the Oval Office.
“This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance. Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!” he added.
“RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!” Trump wrote.
The incendiary remarks came hours after the White House said the US has negotiated directly with Hamas over the possibility of releasing American hostages in its first-ever direct talks with the militant group.
The direct diplomacy, which was conducted in Qatar by US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler, comes as talks to extend the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas or make it permanent have stalled.
Trump, who returned to the White House promising to end the war, has in recent weeks vowed to take over Gaza, displace the more than 2mn Palestinians in the strip and develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
In response to a question over whether the US had held direct talks with Hamas, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday: “These are ongoing talks and discussions. I am not going to detail them here. There are American lives at stake.”
Leavitt said the US had consulted with Israel about the talks, and added that Trump believed in “dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interests of the American people”.
A person familiar with the matter said the discussions covered the possible release of American hostages and an end to the war.
On Wednesday night, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas.”
Israel has demanded the full demilitarisation of the Gaza strip and for Hamas to disarm and give up power. Some officials have raised the prospect of exile for the militant group, including but not limited to the leadership.
The US has long avoided direct conversations with Hamas, which it designated as a terrorist group in 1997.
Hamas is still holding 59 hostages in Gaza, fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive. Five are American dual nationals, including one, Edan Alexander of New Jersey, who is believed to be alive.
According to Israeli officials, US special envoy Steve Witkoff last weekend put forward a “bridging proposal” to extend the current ceasefire for another 50 days. The agreement would be contingent on Hamas releasing half of the remaining hostages it was still holding.
Hamas immediately rejected the proposal, calling it “manipulation”.
More than 48,000 Gazans have been killed by Israel’s offensive in the strip, according to Palestinian health officials. The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, during which militants killed about 1,200 people and seized 250 hostages.
The US, Qatar and Egypt brokered a multiphase ceasefire deal in January, with an initial six-week truce during which more than three dozen hostages were released and some 1,500 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.
That first stage ended last weekend, though fighting has not resumed.
Hamas has publicly remained steadfast in its position that the next stage of the ceasefire, which Trump’s team helped to broker, will have to be agreed before any additional hostages are released.
The second phase is supposed to include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent end to the war and reconstruction of the shattered territory.
But Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected ending the 16-month war or pulling troops out of Gaza.
In response to Hamas’s rejection of Witkoff’s proposal, Israel suspended all entry of aid into the besieged enclave on Sunday, and has threatened to cut off water and electricity ahead of a possible renewed offensive.
“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences,” Netanyahu said.
The US is pushing to extend the ceasefire-for-hostage deal, which was negotiated by Witkoff and the Biden administration days before Trump returned to office.
Analysts said the US would struggle to deliver what Hamas wanted in the talks, adding that the conversations with the militant group risked driving a wedge between the Israeli public and Washington.
“It’s hard to imagine this will be successful because what Hamas wants is the war to be over, which the US can’t control, and Palestinian prisoners out of Israeli prisons, which the US can’t control,” said Jonathan Panikoff of the Atlantic Council.
“There are significant risks to negotiating with terrorist groups because knowing Washington will do so incentivises them to repeat their activities in the future,” he added.
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