Trump unsure if Hamas will release hostages, but urges Israel to take tough stance
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump stated on February 14 that he does not know whether Hamas will release hostages by the deadline - noon on Saturday, February 15. He also emphasized that Israel must take a tough stance, reports CNN.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow at 12 o’clock. If it was up to me, I’d take a very hard stance. I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
He added that he would take a different position, but it depends on the situation, and continued his remarks.
"Look, it depends what Bibi’s going to do. It depends what Israel is going to do. Now I understand, they’ve totally changed, Hamas has totally changed. They want to release hostages now again," Trump said.
What preceded this
Earlier this week, Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel could resume military operations in the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not release the hostages by Saturday, February 15. However, on Thursday, February 13, Hamas announced it would release the hostages as planned this weekend.
On February 10, Hamas spokesperson Hudhaifa Kahlout accused Israel of failing to uphold the ceasefire agreement for the past three weeks. Hamas called for compensation from the Israeli authorities. Should this not occur, the militants warned they would not release the hostages on February 15. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that such threats from the militants are a violation of the ceasefire.
