‘I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job in Gaza’, Trump warns Hamas

President Donald Trump has put out another dire threat to Hamas, after the White House confirmed direct talks with the group as part an of an effort to finally secure the release of hostages and bodies of the deceased. 

‘“Shalom Hamas“ means Hello and Goodbye - You can choose. 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 wrote on his Truth Social site.

‘Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say. 

‘I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed. This is your last warning!’

Trump also told leadership of the terror group to leave Gaza ’now [...] while you still have a chance’.

He added: ‘Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!’

Trump issued similar warnings last month, saying there would be ‘all hell’ to pay if the group, which the U.S. government classified as a terrorist organization, did not send home hostages. 

Trump’s angry threat came hours after a report that the administration was conducting secret talks with Hamas in an effort to release American hostages seized during the bloody October 7 terror attack on Israel. 

The White House said U.S. hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler had the authority to talk directly with Hamas, despite longstanding policy against negotiating with designated terrorist organizations. 

The two sides met in Doha, where prior cease fire and hostage talks had occurred, gut not directly between the parties. U.S. and Israeli negotiators had negotiated instead through third party Arab leaders. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed those talks when asked about them.

‘First of all, the special envoy who engaged in this negotiation does have the authority to talk to anyone. Israel was consulted on this matter,’ Leavitt said. 

‘And look – dialog and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people, is something that the American people.’ 

She wouldn’t answer directly when asked if the talks also related to Trump’s stated plan to rebuild and take over Gaza in a plan critics have called Gaza-lago.

‘These are ongoing talks and discussions. I’m not going to detail them here, that are American lines at stake.’

On February 11, Trump warned ‘all hell is going to break loose’ if the group did not release all remaining hostages that week. 

In response, a Hamas spokesman lashed out at the US President and said there was no place ‘for the language of threats’.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior spokesperson for the terror group known for its tight stranglehold over the Gaza Strip, boldly claimed Trump’s comments did nothing but make negotiations for the end of the war harder.  

‘The language of threats has no value and further complicates matters,’ Zuhri remarked.

He added that Trump needed to ‘remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties and this is the only way to return the prisoners’. 

A few days later, Hamas released American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36 and two other hostages. 

Edan Alexander of Tenafly, New Jersey, is thought to be the last living American hostage, in an ordeal that has extended beyond 500 days. 

He appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in November 2024. Israel says four other American hostages died in captivity.

Israel says 24 living hostages remain, along with the bodies of 35 others. 

The threats come days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked ‘emergency authority’ to send an additional $4 billion in security assistance to Israel.

Trump also met with hostages released from captivity on Wednesday.

‘Today, President Trump took time to meet with eight of the released hostages from Gaza,’ Leavitt said. 

‘The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories. The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.’

They were Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher, and Noa Argamani.

This comes after Trump promoted a controversial vision for what his ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended. 

The President laid out an extraordinary plan at a press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, stating: ‘The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too.’ 

Trump’s proposal was met with global criticism by both lawmakers and analysts who fear the plan would forcibly displace Gaza’s population of two million, while US critics wondered if the President’s vision would plunge the nation into the potentially bloody role of occupying power.

Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert who advised secretaries of state across multiple administrations of both parties, said the immediate reaction among global lawmakers and leaders across the region was one of ‘revulsion’.

But on February 25, Trump seemed to further promote the plan by posting a 35-second video to his Truth Social account that began with the question: ‘Gaza 2025: What’s Next?’ It is unclear who created the video.

The AI-generated video - in a series of bold, gaudy images - shows a Trump hotel, a giant golden statue of Trump, and a child holding a Trump balloon among resplendent beach-front resort complexes.

‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk is seen tossing around cash to visitors and children, while Trump dances with a belly dancer and drinks cocktails with Netanyahu. 

The video has created uproar online with X users quickly branding it as ‘absolutely horrifying’ and ‘filth on a world stage’, while others argued that it is time for people to ‘start taking Trump’s plan for Gaza more seriously’.

The White House responded to the criticism in a statement to DailyMail.com: ’As President Trump has said, Gaza in its current state is unhabitable for any human being. 

‘President Trump is a visionary, and his plan to have the United States involved in Gaza’s rebuilding will allow for Palestinians to resettle in new, beautiful communities while improving conditions in the region for generations to come.’

Source: Daily Mail 
--Agencies