Gaza truce on brink after Hamas declares halt to hostage release
WASHINGTON—US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out.”
Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But in a wide-ranging session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with the condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement by the militant group that it would halt further releases.
Hamas on Monday announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice while claiming Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
The Palestinian militant group said Israeli ceasefire violations included delaying people from returning to northern Gaza, shelling and firing upon Palestinians and stopping humanitarian aid from entering the strip as stipulated under the ceasefire.
Claim belied
Aid organizations belied the Hamas claim on aid saying the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza has risen since the ceasefire took effect. Israel denied that it was impeding the flow of aid.
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said Hamas’ move to stop the return of the hostages violated the ceasefire and he instructed the military to be at the highest level of readiness in Gaza and for domestic defense.
“As far as I’m concerned,” Trump said, “if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out.”
He said he wanted the hostages released en masse, instead of a few at a time. “We want ‘em all back.”
Trump also said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if they don’t take Palestinian refugees being relocated from Gaza. He is to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday.
The comments came on a day of some confusion over Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza once the fighting stops.
He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to the Gaza Strip under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, contradicting his own officials who had suggested Gazans would only be relocated temporarily.
No return
In an excerpt of an interview with Fox News channel’s Bret Baier broadcast on Monday, Trump added that he thought he could make a deal with Jordan and Egypt to take the displaced Palestinians, saying the United States gives the two countries “billions and billions of dollars a year.”
Asked if Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza, Trump said: “No, they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing.”
“I’m talking about building a permanent place for them,” he said, adding it would take years for Gaza to be habitable again.
In a shock announcement on Feb. 4 after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Trump proposed resettling Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinians and the US taking control of the seaside enclave, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump’s suggestion of Palestinian displacement has been repeatedly rejected by Gaza residents and Arab states, and labeled by rights advocates and the United Nations as a proposal of ethnic cleansing.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s statement that Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza was “irresponsible.”
