Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump in an X post on Saturday for his strong support of Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, referring to the Islamist group as “monstrous terrorists.”
Netanyahu wrote the remarks in a retweet of a Thursday post by Trump, in which the president warned Hamas that failing to release the hostages held in Gaza would lead to severe consequences, saying, “There will be hell to pay later.”
Trump’s post included images from his White House meeting on Wednesday with eight Israelis who had been freed from captivity in the Strip.
Thank you President Trump for once again boldly supporting Israel in our just war against the monstrous Hamas terrorists. https://t.co/n49QOk3zsH
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 8, 2025
Following the Oval Office meeting, Trump took to his Truth Social platform, declaring:
“‘Shalom Hamas’ means hello and goodbye—you can choose. Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is over for you. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted.
“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,” the president continued. “Release the hostages now, or there will be hell to pay later.”
Netanyahu held a meeting with a group of senior ministers and the heads of the security services on Saturday to discuss the next steps in the Gaza ceasefire, after which it was announced that a delegation would be heading to Doha on Monday for talks.
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, is slated to travel to Doha on Tuesday to encourage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Witkoff told reporters on Thursday that the United States and Israel could take joint military action against Hamas if negotiations with the terrorist group fail.
