U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israeli hostages will return from Gaza only when Hamas is “destroyed,” appearing to express a position aligned with that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid indirect talks of a ceasefire.
“We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!!” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.”
“Remember, I was the one who negotiated and got hundreds of hostages freed and released into Israel (and America!),” he added, seemingly referring to the 30 hostages released during the January-March ceasefire deal and the May release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.
“I was the one who ended six wars in just six months. I was the one who OBLITERATED Iran’s Nuclear facilities,” Trump wrote. “Play to WIN, or don’t play at all.”
Netanyahu, who has often said that Israel’s war objectives in Gaza include dismantling Hamas, announced on Saturday night his support for an agreement with Hamas to end the war in Gaza, but only if it meant the release of all the remaining hostages and the disarmament of Hamas.
“We will agree to an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war, which include the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of the Strip, Israeli control of the perimeter, and the establishment of a governing authority that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, and that will live in peace with Israel,” the premier said, according to his office.
A Qatari delegation has arrived in Egypt on Sunday, reportedly as part of an accelerated attempt to bring Israel and Hamas back to the negotiating table for indirect talks.
Meanwhile, a discussion was held on Saturday night in the Israel Defense Forces Southern Command ahead of presenting operational plans for the Gaza City offensive to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. Deliberations on the plan’s final blueprint are ongoing.
Hamas abducted 251 people in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during an invasion by thousands of terrorists, who also murdered some 1,200 people. Of the hostages, 148 were retrieved, most of them in two deals that involved ceasefires and the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Israel believes Hamas is still holding 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
