Hamas hostages are treated as a confinement kept in the Gaza Strip. A US envoy to Middle Eastern Steve Witkov said on Thursday, warning that “it will not be tolerated by President Trump.”
Witkoff spoke outside the White House the day after President Donald Trump met eight former hostages in Washington and posted what he called “the final warning” to Hamas on his true social platform.
“We're not going to sit here, do nothing and tolerate this kind of inhumanity,” Witkov said. “They lived in terrible circumstances. By the way, who would hold the bodies? Who would do that? Do people continue to take them downstairs? Do they kill them in front of other hostages?
“Yesterday we had a great day with hostages… They handled their whole lives and were able to spend time with President Trump, and although his days were busy, I thought it would be a short period of time, he listened to hostages, photos and each of them, listened to their stories, listened to their stories, listened to each of them.
After Trump's threat, Hamas refuses to release more hostages without phase 2 of the ceasefire deal
The White House Middle Eastern Envoy Steve Witkoff will be speaking to reporters at the White House in Washington on Thursday, March 6th, accompanied by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. (AP/Ben Curtis)
“The president is pretty dull,” Witkov added. “It's time for Hamas to begin action in a responsible and rational way, and I don't think they're doing that.”
However, Palestinian terrorist groups on Thursday dismissed Trump's latest threat and refused to release more Israeli hostages without a permanent ceasefire contract in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Kanoor said “the best path to freeing the remaining Israeli hostages” was through negotiations in the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Trump is sticking to Gaza's relocation plan as the White House appears to be rejecting Egypt's proposal
The first phase of the 42-day ceasefire ended on Saturday. The second phase was due to begin in early February, but so far only a limited number of preparatory consultations have been held.
“'Shalom Hamas' means Hello and goodbye – you can choose,” Trump said Wednesday. “Now release all the hostages later and immediately return all the bodies of those you murdered, or we'll finish for you.”
Trump added that he “sents everything he needs to get work done to Israel,” and said, “If you don't, as I say, there wouldn't be one Hamas member.
Israeli hostages, Avel Mengis and Tal Shoham, are caught between Palestinian Hamas fighters as they are on stage when they were released in Rafa in the southern Gaza Strip on February 22nd. (Omar al-qattaa/afp via Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
“And also for the people of Gaza: a beautiful future awaits us, but not a time to hold hostages,” the president wrote. “If that's the case, you're dead! Make a wise decision. Release hostages now, or you'll have hell to pay later!”
Stephen Sorace and the Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
