Hamas Blasts Trump’s Hostage Demands as Support for Israeli Siege Tactics
Hamas on Thursday condemned US President Donald Trump’s repeated social media threats as support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to walk away from the Gaza ceasefire and intensify the blockade on the enclave. In a post on Wednesday, Trump demanded that Hamas “release all of the hostages now, not later,” including the remains of dead hostages, warning the people of Gaza that “you are DEAD” if hostages are not freed—remarks that have inflamed tensions amid a fragile ceasefire.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said Trump’s rhetoric effectively gives Netanyahu carte blanche to back out of the ceasefire agreement. “Trump’s repeated threats against our people represent support to Netanyahu to evade the agreement and tighten the siege and starvation against our people,” he said in a text message to Reuters. Hamas maintains that the ceasefire’s second phase must now begin—a phase calling for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages—rather than Israel’s offer of a temporary extension into April in exchange for additional hostage releases without immediate negotiations on Gaza’s future.
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Human rights advocates and UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese decried Trump’s language as tantamount to encouraging collective punishment, an act deemed illegal under international law. The remarks come as a US envoy reportedly held secret talks with Hamas—a departure from decades-old US policy of not engaging directly with the group—amid mediation efforts involving Egyptian and Qatari officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office offered no further comment beyond reiterating its support for the temporary ceasefire extension proposed by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff. As the ceasefire remains on shaky ground, both sides brace for the possibility of renewed hostilities, with Hamas insisting that adherence to the original ceasefire plan is the only path toward releasing hostages and ending the conflict.
