Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene the Security Cabinet “soon” to discuss Jerusalem’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza to release all of the hostages it is holding.
Netanyahu praised Trump’s leadership and Israel’s coordination with the United States in a statement from his office on Saturday, highlighting that the reinforcement of the Israel Defense Forces around Gaza and Trump’s firm stance led to the release of three hostages on Saturday despite Hamas’s prior threat to delay their release.
He also expressed his appreciation for Trump’s support regarding Israel’s future decisions on Gaza, and said he would convene the Security Cabinet soon “to decide on Israel’s next steps.”
The three latest returnees from Hamas captivity in Gaza were reunited on Saturday with their families—American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Alexander (“Sasha”) Troufanov, 29, who has dual Russian citizenship; and Argentine-Israeli Iair Horn, 46. They were all kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
Trump congratulated the freed hostages, but made clear that their release fell short of his call to free all the captives.
“Hamas has just released three Hostages from GAZA, including an American Citizen. They seem to be in good shape! This differs from their [Hamas’s] statement last week that they would not release any Hostages,” Trump wrote on Saturday on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!” he added, seemingly referring to U.S. Eastern Time, which is 7 p.m. in Israel.
The president’s deadline was a reference to his previous warning that the “gates of hell” could be unleashed on Gaza if Hamas did not release all the hostages.
Seventy-three hostages remain inside the Strip, including 70 kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023.
Saturday’s exchange of hostages for terrorists was the sixth such round under Phase 1 of the ceasefire that took effect on Jan. 19 and is to end on March 1. Talks are ongoing regarding phases two and three.
