Trump warns Hamas all bets will be off if Gaza hostages arent quickly released with deadline looming
WASHINGTON — President Trump warned Hamas leaders Saturday that “all bets will be off” if the terror group doesn’t “quickly” release all Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip.“Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off.I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again,” Trump posted on his Truth Social.“Let’s get this done, FAST.
Everyone will be treated fairly!”Trump had given Hamas a deadline of Sunday at 6 p.m.to agree to a 21-point peace proposal for the Middle East, starting with the release of all remaining hostages in just 72 hours.Just 20 hostages are believed to be still alive.Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who brokered diplomatic normalization between Israel and Arab nations during Trump’s first term as a Middle East envoy, are leading the US delegation into Cairo on Sunday for ongoing negotiations, a White House official said.Hamas senior official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera Friday the president’s demands for the terror group to free all Israeli hostages — and the bodies of two Americans who died in captivity — in the timeframe was “unrealistic under current circumstances.”But the group agreed to do so once “field conditions are met,” referring to a request from Trump for Israel to halt its military from invading Gaza City.“In light of the Hamas response, Israel is making preparations for the immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan which is the immediate release of all of the hostages,” a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office read Friday.“We will continue to fully cooperate with the president and his team in order to end the war in accordance with the principles that Israel laid out and which are in line with President Trump’s vision.”Israeli troops later reduced activity in Gaza City “to a minimum” limited ground operations to strictly defensive actions, according...