The administration of President Donald Trump participates in the negotiations with Hamas for the release of all Israeli hostages in Gaza. “We are helping Israel in those conversations, said Trump, who insisted on his hard warning to the group, designated as a terrorist by the US.
President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that his administration was negotiating with Hamas, to free Israeli hostages that he still maintains in his possession, and reaffirmed his previous ultimatum that there would be “a hell to pay” in Gaza if they were not immediately released.
“They will find out,” Trump said from the Oval office when a journalist asked him what he meant. The president highlighted his meeting on Wednesday with the Israeli hostages released by the terrorist group appointed by the United States.
“I had the honor of spending a lot of time yesterday with enough of the people we rescued, and I can't believe how bad they treated them,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Steve Witkoff, the president's special envoy to the Middle East, told reporters in the White House that the administration could “take some measure” that could be done “together with the Israelis.”
“Hamas has the opportunity to act reasonably, to do the right thing and then retire,” Witkoff said, referring to the demands of the United States and Israel that Hamas does not have any military or political role in Gaza after the war.
Neither Trump nor the White House answered the questions about whether the options that are being considered to include military action. In the past, officials have said they will not send American troops to Gaza.
“We are helping Israel in those conversations, because we are talking about Israeli hostages. And we are not doing anything in terms of Hamas. We are not giving money,” Trump said.
The Office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a statement that Israel “has told the United States its position regarding direct conversations with Hamas.”
Hamas said that the best way to free hostages was through high fire negotiations. He added that Trump's threats were encouraging Israel to move away from the Alto Fire Agreement in Gaza reached on January 19, a day before Trump assumed the position.
“The language of threats does not intimidate us; It only further complicates things, ”said Hamas Sami Abu Zuhri official in a statement published in a telegram channel affiliated with the group.
On Wednesday in Truth Social, Trump published: “Release all hostages now, not later, and immediately return all the bodies of the people who murdered, or it ends for you. … I am sending Israel everything you need to finish the job, no Hamas member will be safe if they do not tell them. ”
His administration sent 4,000 million dollars in arms to Israel this week.
The conversations between the United States and Hamas seem to be a new diplomatic route, separated from the ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel, with the mediation of Qatar and the United States, to ensure the second phase of the high fire in Gaza.
Hamas accused the United States and Israel trying to retire from negotiations when the first phase ended last weekend.
“Most people expect the high fire to collapse because they expect Prime Minister Netanyahu to start bombing Gaza again,” said Mirette Mabouk, a senior member of Middle East Institute.
“And as soon as that happens, there will be no more hostage releases,” he told VOA.
Arab counterpart
In addition to the two negotiation routes, the Arab nations supported on Tuesday a counterproposal to Trump's call to expel the Palestinians and turn Gaza into a beach destination. According to the Arab Plan, the Palestinians will remain there and will be excluded from the government.
Israel has rejected the plan, but Washington sees it as a “first step in good faith,” Witkoff said in response to the question of the question of the Voa During a meeting of journalists at the White House on Thursday.
“We are evaluating everything there. Therefore, it's a bit soon to comment, ”he said.
Israel has also blocked all the aid to Gaza since Sunday, repeating long accusations that he is being diverted to Hamas, something that international agencies deny. Now there is a shortage of fuel in the territory, which makes basic services such as garbage collection in danger.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas's attack in October 2023 against Israel that killed some 1,200 people and resulted in the hostage of about 250 people. Israel's counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 48,400 Palestinians, approximately half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.