President of the United States Donald Trump has reiterated his warning to Hamas over the hostage crisis. During a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah on Tuesday, President Trump said Hamas should “have them Hostages) out by Saturday at 12 o’clock, or all bets are off.”
The Latest Warning
President Trump was responding to a query by a journalist who asked, “Hell will break out if all the hostages are not released on Saturday. What did you mean by that? And are you encouraging Netanyahu to walk away from this deal? Have you talked about this?”
To this President Trump responded, “I have looked at the condition of people coming out of the hostage situation, and it's horrible. I think the people that they have living are in such bad shape because they're sending the most healthy people out. Because they don't want to send the least healthy people out, and there was an uproar when they saw the people from yesterday. So, these people are, so I don't wanna do 2 and then we do another 2 in another week and then we do 4 and 3 weeks now, no. They either have them out by Saturday at 12 o'clock or all bets are off.”
Hamas’s Delay
Trump’s warnings have come after Hamas announced a delay in the release of the next group of Israeli hostages, alleging that Israel is violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement by preventing the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and obstructing the entry of essential supplies.
Fragile Ceasefire
Israel and Hamas are in a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas committed to releasing 33 hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect on January 19, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners.
