Hamas has accused Donald Trump of seeking to undermine the shaky pause in hostilities in Gaza with his latest intervention in the region: a new and fierce ultimatum telling the group to release all hostages.
The militant Islamist organisation said Trump’s threats constituted support for attempts by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to back out of the ceasefire agreement.
“These threats complicate matters … and encourage [Israel] to avoid implementing its terms,” the Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasim said in a statement on Thursday.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump told Hamas to “release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you”.
Fighting in Gaza has been halted since 19 January under a truce arranged with US support and Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and Hamas has exchanged 25 living Israeli hostages and five Thais for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The remains of eight dead Israeli hostages have also been returned.
However, the first phase of the ceasefire ended on Saturday and talks on the second phase have stalled.
The US president’s post came hours after the White House confirmed the US had entered direct negotiations with Hamas, potentially bypassing Israel to secure the release of US hostages still held by the group.
Official Israeli reaction to that development was limited to a single-sentence statement late on Wednesday stating that “Israel has expressed to the US its position regarding direct talks with Hamas”.
The unprecedented direct talks between Hamas and the US appear initially aimed at freeing Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American dual citizen who is thought to be still alive, and securing the return of the remains of four other Israeli-Americans abducted in Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Hamas seized about 250 hostages during that attack and killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Fifty-nine hostages are still held by Hamas, though Israeli intelligence services believe more than half are dead.
Yoram Schweitzer, a Tel Aviv-based analyst and former Israeli intelligence officer, said the contact may create momentum towards resuming the ceasefire agreement.
“It has potential benefits. Even in the worst-case scenario – that the Americans just get their people out and then step away – then we are still talking about US-Israeli dual citizens so that’s still more Israelis who are being freed. Even that will help push things forward.”
The direct talks are a radical shift for the US. Hamas was proscribed by the US as a terrorist organisation in 1997 and its diplomatic isolation has long been a central principle of Washington’s regional policies and those of allied powers. US sanctions have targeted individuals accused of raising funds for Hamas and the US last year banned members of the group, allied armed factions and the Palestine Liberation Organization from visiting.
Schweitzer said the Israeli security establishment would be unfazed by US contact with the perpetrators of the October 2023 attacks.
“The Americans were dealing with the Taliban and the Iranians despite the facade of not talking to terrorists. We know that sometimes it is a necessary evil. There is a cost of course to a dialogue with Hamas but obviously we understand. The security establishment here understands that very well,” he said.
Trump’s ultimatum followed a White House meeting between the US president and a group of hostages recently released by Hamas.
Israel wants to prolong the ceasefire, securing the release of hostages but without reaching a final agreement with Hamas on ending the war. Hamas wants to move immediately to the agreed second stage of the ceasefire where the sides would negotiate a definitive end to the fighting.
Trump reiterated his support for Israel and referred to a recent decision to provide billions more in support for Israeli arms sales. “I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” Trump wrote.
“This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.” He added: “Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”
Trump also made clear there could be repercussions for Gaza as a whole, where more than 48,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and vast swathes of the territory laid waste during the 16-month Israeli offensive.
Since the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods entering Gaza, demanding Hamas release the remaining hostages without beginning negotiations to end the war.
Aid agencies say the humanitarian crisis in the territory remains acute, with needs barely met by the increased flow of aid in late January and last month.
Trump wrote: “To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!”
Hamas has confirmed the talks with the US, saying there had been two direct meetings between US officials and Hamas in Doha, the Qatari capital, in recent days. White House officials have said Israel was consulted on the “ongoing … discussions” with Hamas.
Israel’s consul general in New York, Ofir Akunis, sought to downplay the contacts in an interview with Fox News. “There is a new attitude from the White House … against Hamas. They can talk with Hamas, that’s OK,” he told the network.
Many analysts have warned that Netanyahu had little intention of maintaining the agreement because a definitive end to the conflict could threaten his hold on political power within Israel.
With Trump in the White House, Netanyahu and his close advisers may also believe they can secure better terms or even the release of more hostages without major concessions.
Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, has denied Israel breached the ceasefire deal by not advancing to stage two talks. He said there was “no automaticity” between the stages and accused Hamas of violating the agreement to allow aid into Gaza by seizing most of the supplies for its own benefit.
