Israel will have to make a decision on next steps in the war on Hamas, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, adding he did not know what would happen after the terrorists blew up the ceasefire negotiations.
“You know, they had a routine discussion the other day and, all of a sudden, they hardened up,” he said of the talks, speaking alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.
Hamas doesn’t “want to give them back,” Trump said of the remaining 50 hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
“So Israel’s going to have to make a decision,” the president told reporters. “I know what I do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say, but Israel is going to have to make a decision.”
Accusing Hamas of stealing “everything,” including humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians, Trump described the coastal enclave as a “mess.
“The Gaza Strip, you know, was given many years ago so that they could have peace,” said Trump, referencing Jerusalem’s 2005 pullout from the area. “That didn’t work out too well when Israel gave that up,” he added.
The president said that his administration had sent $60 million in aid supplies to Gaza two weeks ago, “and nobody even acknowledged it.
“Nobody talks about it, and it makes you feel a little bad when you do that and you know you have other countries not giving anything,” he said. “It would be nice to have at least a thank you—and I took a lot of heat, you know, when I do that, a lot of people aren’t happy about that,” he added.
Trump did not specify how the $60 million was spent, though the funds were presumably for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has provided millions of meals to Gazans since May.
“I think we had a humanitarian reason for doing it,” Trump said.
On Thursday, U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said that Washington would examine “alternative options” to bring home the hostages as Hamas “does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith.”
Witkoff went on to say that “it is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way,” emphasizing that Washington remains “resolute” in its desire to achieve peace.
Reflecting Israel’s similar concerns, Education Minister Yoav Kisch said on Monday, during an interview with Kan News, that “the possibility of returning hostages under a deal is zero,” adding that the government must find alternative solutions to secure the return of captives, which includes the defeat of Hamas.
The comments came shortly after the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated that “in light of the response delivered by Hamas this morning,” Jerusalem had decided to recall its negotiating team for consultations.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday, “I mean every word—if Hamas does not release the hostages, the gates of hell will open in Gaza.”
Trump told journalists on Friday that Hamas’s obstruction of the truce negotiations “got to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
In a reference to Israel, Trump said, “So they pulled out [of the negotiations], and they’re going to have to fight. They’re going to have to clean it up. They’re going to have to get rid of [Hamas terrorists].”
Since the collapse of the talks, the Israel Defense Forces announced it will be instituting tactical humanitarian pauses in the war, aimed at refuting “the false claim of deliberate starvation” in the Strip.
Addressing these claims, Kisch argued that “there were quite a few organizations that echoed Hamas’s campaign—which is a lie—and it succeeded.”
On the decision to institute humanitarian pauses, Kisch added, “This move was forced upon us, it has a tactical cost on the ground. This isn’t an event that will last long; we’re approaching moments of decision. Did we do this to relieve pressure? Yes.”
While emphasizing that “combat operations have not ceased” across the Strip, the IDF said pauses in military activities would be instituted in Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City “every day until further notice.”
Humanitarian corridors will also be established to enable the movement of U.N. convoys delivering food and medicine to Gazans, according to the IDF. The secure aid routes will remain in place permanently between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
The military added that it was prepared to expand the scale of its humanitarian response in the coastal enclave “as required.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a gathering of evangelical Christians in Jerusalem on Sunday that “there is no starvation in Gaza ..., and I assure you that we have a commitment to achieve our war goals.
“We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities. They shall be there no more,” the premier added.
