President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a stern and 'final' warning to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza. He held a meeting with eight former hostages and soon after the meeting he said he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job." The move comes after the White House said US officials have engaged in "ongoing talks and discussions" with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held US policy of not directly engaging in the militant group.
"You are sick and twisted!"
In a statement issued on Trump's Truth Social platform, he said, "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," Trump said. "Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!"
Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha comes as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. It's the first known direct engagement between the US
and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide details on the substance of talks but said President Donald Trump has authorised his envoys to “talk to anyone. "Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries have served as mediators with Hamas for the US and Israel since the group launched its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war. "Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people is something that the president believes is a good-faith effort to do what's right for the American people,” she said.
24 living hostages still in Gaza
Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages — including Edan Alexander, an American citizen — as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza.
Adam Boehler, Trump's nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, led the direct talks with Hamas. Boehler, founder and CEO of Rubicon Founders, a healthcare investment firm, was a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team during Trump's first term that strove to win broader recognition of Israel in the Arab world.
The talks, which took place last month, focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
(AP inputs)