Donald Trump has posted a new ultimatum to Hamas, telling the group “Now we've released all the hostages and immediately returned all the bodies of those who killed, or that's finished for you.”
“'Shalom Hamas' means greetings and goodbye,” he wrote in a social media post Wednesday with a clear reference to the beginning of the in-person meeting with the group.
The post comes hours after the White House confirmed that the US had negotiated directly with Hamas.
It also followed a White House meeting with a group of hostages recently released under the Gaza Cerez-Fire Agreement.
Israeli intelligence agency believes there are only 22 people alive, but 59 hostages are still held by Hamas.
Five Americans are still believed to be held in Hamas, one of them, 21-year-old Edan Alexander, is thought to be still alive.
Trump has mentioned his recent decision to strengthen his support for Israel and provide billions more to support Israeli arms sales.
“I'm sending Israel everything I need to finish work. If you don't, as I say, Hamas members will not be safe,” writes Trump.
“This is your last warning! For leadership, it's time to leave Gaza, but you still have a chance,” he writes. “We'll make wise decisions. If you release hostages now, there's hell to pay later!”
Trump also made it clear that there could be an impact across Gaza. There, Israel's ruthless, aggressive response to Hamas on October 7, 2023 has been evacuated virtually the entire population.
“For the people of Gaza: a beautiful future awaits, but not if you're holding hostages. If so, you're dead!”
Trump's comments came hours after White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt said officials had “continued consultations and discussions” with Hamas officials amid a volatile ceasefire deal.
Leavitt told reporters that Israel was consulted in consultations and that US Special Envoy Adam Bohler “has the authority to speak to anyone” when “American lives are in danger.”
Hamas members recently confirmed the talks, saying there were two in-person meetings between US officials and Hamas in Qatar's capital Doha.
“Several communications have been made between Hamas and various American communication channels. The latest presence, along with US envoys, discussed the issue of Israeli prisoners who hold American citizenship, both live and deceased,” Hamas officials told AFP.
Israel said it had communicated its position in a direct meeting with Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late Wednesday but did not provide further details.
“Israel has expressed its position to the United States regarding its in-person meeting with Hamas,” a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
“Conversing and speaking with people all over the world in order to get the best interests of the American people is something the President has proven and I believe is a good-willed effort to do the right thing for Americans,” Leavitt said.
Axios first reported on a “secret lecture” with Hamas, citing two sources with first-hand knowledge of the conference held in Doha, Doha in recent weeks.
The outlet is called “unprecedented,” and points out that the US has never been involved with Hamas before, declaring the group as a terrorist organization in 1997.
Under the terms of the hostage hostage contract that came into effect on January 19, Hamas was expected to release hostages each week in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Six weeks later, Israel and Hamas are expected to enter the second phase of negotiations, with the ceasefire becoming permanent and securing the release of the remaining hostages.
However, these talks have not progressed, and the White House decision to engage directly with Hamas appears to be aimed at achieving Trump's goal of securing the release of all hostages held in Gaza.
Trump previously warned that unless they are released they will have “hell payments” in areas that appear to be a threat specifically directed to Hamas.
But Trump envoy Steve Witkov was also essential to pressure Netanyahu to move forward with negotiations and convince the Israeli Prime Minister to sign the original ceasefire contract that came into effect in January.
Bowlers are tasked with securing the release of Americans “mistaken by mistake” by governments and other groups around the world. However, it remains unclear whether he is discussing the release of these hostages as part of a long-term ceasefire.
Witkov, a Trump envoy who negotiated a previous ceasefire and is now in charge of negotiating with Russia, is scheduled to travel to Doha earlier this week, and has begun meeting Qatar's prime minister about the ceasefire negotiations, but “he canceled the trip on Tuesday night after seeing no progress from Hamas' side,” a US civil servant told Axios.
