US president Donald Trump had given an ultimatum to Hamas on releasing the hostages held by the terror group. The president on Monday said that the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas should be cancelled if the militant outfit doesn’t release the remaining hostages from Gaza by midday on Saturday, saying that otherwise “all hell is going to break out”.
Trump’s Sizzling Warning
“But as far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock — I think it’s an appropriate time — I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said.
However, he also acknowledged that such a decision would be up to Israel. “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.” he added.
“We’ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
Earlier, a spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement earlier Monday that the next hostage release, “which was scheduled for next Saturday, February 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice”.
Hamas said the resumption of hostage-prisoner exchanges was “pending the (Israeli) occupation’s compliance and retroactive fulfilment of the past weeks’ obligations”.
The truce that went into effect on January 19 largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip and saw five groups of Israeli hostages freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody.
The ceasefire agreement says staggered releases should take place over the ongoing 42-day first phase of the deal. The group has accused Israel of failing to carry out its commitments under the truce in time and of violating the ceasefire, including on humanitarian aid deliveries and after the Sunday deaths of three Gazans.
Trump’s Idea Of US ‘Owning’ Gaza
Trump’s recent remarks about “owning Gaza” have sparked widespread controversy. The U.S. President suggested that Palestinians in Gaza would not have the right to return home under his proposed plan for American control of the war-torn region. However, his comments contradict statements from other officials in his administration, who have maintained that he was only referring to the temporary relocation of Gazans.
Just last week, Trump floated the idea of bringing Gaza under U.S. control, even envisioning it as the “Riviera of the Middle East” under the American flag.
