Live: Trump threatens Gaza residents with death as his team holds direct talks with Hamas about captives
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Here are the day's key developments:
- In a stunning post to his TruthSocial platform on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump threatened members of Hamas and all residents of Gaza that they would be "DEAD" if they don't do as he says: release all captives, and leave the enclave.
- This came as US hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler was given the authority to talk directly with Hamas by President Donald Trump, the White House announced on Wednesday. The talks are unprecedented as the US has long designated the group as a terrorist organisation. The two sides have been meeting face to face in Doha.
- The Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth, known as Ynet, is reporting that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has told Israel to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza until his arrival in the region to discuss next steps. A date for the trip has not been set, but it was initially expected sometime this week.
- Israel must meet international obligations regarding the provision of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
- The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza updated its total death toll since the start of Israel's war there. It noted 35 fatalities, consisting of four newly killed, 30 found bodies and one person who succumbed to their wounds. The total number of deaths in Gaza is now 48,440 since 7 October, 2023.
- Israeli forces have launched a series of overnight raids in the occupied West Bank, detaining multiple Palestinians. The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that four individuals were seized from Kafr ad-Dik, west of Salfit, while six others were arrested in Nablus and the adjacent Balata camp, where troops assaulted a local resident.
- The Trump administration has approved a waiver for $95m in military assistance to Lebanon in a sign that it sees it's making progress against Hezbollah. The approval marks one of the rare instances of foreign military aid moving through the Trump administration.
- Al-Arabiya's United Nations bureau has been informed by a US official that the US military flew a B-52 bomber over the Middle East this week, making it "the third Bomber Task Force mission ordered by Washington in the past month", the channel's UN correspondent said on X. Israeli fighter jets participated in this latest round.
In a post to his TruthSocial platform on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump threatened members of Hamas and residents of Gaza that they would be "DEAD" if they don't do as he says: release all captives, and leave the enclave.
"'Shalom Hamas' means Hello and Goodbye - You can choose. 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," Trump wrote on his social media site.
"Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! 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," he warned.
"I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed. This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance. Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!"
Trump's comments come as media coverage on Wednesday is dominated by the news that an unprecedented meeting between US and Hamas officials took place in Doha - something many across the political spectrum lauded as a constructive step. The two sides have never held direct talks.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s speech on Tuesday at Columbia University has faced intense criticism, leading several student groups to protest against his presence on campus.
The university's Barnard College-Hillel, the school of international and public affairs, and the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life co-hosted Bennett for an event, according to a report by the Columbia Spectator.
The Columbia chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace and the Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition organised a protest on campus, with students and protesters gathered outside the 116th and Broadway gates and inside the campus carrying banners that read, “war criminal off our campus”.
Read more: Naftali Bennett is being called out by student groups for his role in alleged Israeli war crimes
The Reuters news agency, citing two sources briefed on the discussions, said the meeting between US and Hamas officials in recent weeks took place in Doha, Qatar.
US hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler was given the authority to talk directly with Hamas by President Donald Trump, the White House said earlier on Wednesday.
The talks are unprecedented as the US has long designated the group as a terrorist organisation.
It was not clear who represented Hamas at the meeting, Reuters said.
Discussions focused on the release of Edan Alexander of Tenafly, New Jersey, who is believed to be the last living American captive held in Gaza. He appeared in a video published by Hamas in November 2024.
Four other American captives had previously been declared dead.
The Vatican on Wednesday said that for the first time in three weeks, Pope Francis has been able to do some work as he battles a severe case of double pneumonia.
Among his tasks was a call to the Catholic parish in Gaza, which is something he'd done regularly for the past year and a half.
The pontiff is 88 years old.
The Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth, known as Ynet, is reporting that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has told Israel to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza until his arrival in the region to discuss next steps.
A date for the trip has not been set, but it was initially expected sometime this week.
The US consulted Israel before engaging in unprecedented direct talks with Hamas in recent weeks, the White House press secretary said on Wednesday.
"The special envoy who's engaged in those negotiations does have the authority to talk to anyone," Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "Israel was consulted on this matter, and look - dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people is something that the president... believes is [a] good faith effort to do what's right for the American people."
Asked if the discussions only revolve around the captives with American citizenship or also Trump's offer to take ownership of Gaza, Leavitt responded: "These are ongoing talks and discussions. I am not going to detail them here."
The Trump administration has approved a waiver for $95m in military assistance to Lebanon in a sign that it sees it's making progress against Hezbollah.
The approval, confirmed by a State Department spokesperson on Tuesday, marks one of the rare instances of foreign military aid moving through the Trump administration.
In January, the State Department instituted a 90-day funding pause on all aid, with exceptions only for Israel and Egypt. Funding to Ukraine was also recently cut amid the very public differences with Kyiv on ending the war there.
The $95m in aid was originally earmarked for Egypt, but the Biden administration diverted the funds to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
Read more: Move is a sign the US believes the Lebanese Armed Forces is making progress against Hezbollah
Al-Arabiya's United Nations bureau has been informed by a US official that the US military flew a B-52 bomber over the Middle East this week, making it "the third Bomber Task Force mission ordered by Washington in the past month", the channel's UN correspondent said on X.
Israeli fighter jets participated in this latest round, and the drills are aimed at sending a message to adversaries that the US is capable of defending its interests whenever needed, Talal al-Haj said.
US official to Al Arabiya English: @AlArabiya @USUN @EliseStefanik
— Talal Al-Haj (@TalalAlhaj) March 5, 2025
• US military flew a B-52 bomber over the Middle East this week, the third Bomber Task Force mission ordered by Washington in the past month
• This time Israeli fighter jets also participated
• Increase in…
Israel must meet international obligations regarding the provision of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
"We call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza," the statement read.
"Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool," it added, calling on all parties to uphold the ceasefire.
Reporting by Reuters
Israeli soldiers have been selling looted valuables from Gaza and Lebanon, a new investigation has revealed.
A report by Hamakom Hachi Ham Bagehenom (The Hottest Place in Hell) compiled numerous testimonies of thefts allegedly committed by members of the Israeli army. These included large sums of cash, jewellery, electronic devices, and even vehicles.
These items were later sold on Telegram channels, Facebook Marketplace, or in public sales.
A commander in the Nahal Brigade, using the pseudonym Eitan to remain anonymous, explained that while soldiers initially took items as souvenirs, the thefts soon escalated.
Read more: Testimonies indicate that senior officials were not concerned with the theft, with some even partaking in the looting
The Trump administration has been conducting secret talks with Hamas on the possibility of releasing US hostages being held in Gaza, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the talks.
US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler has been holding the direct talks with Hamas in recent weeks in Doha, the report said.
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza updated its total death toll since the start of Israel's war on Gaza.
The ministry says 35 fatalities, consisting of four newly killed, 30 found bodies and one person who succumbed to their wounds, brought the total to 48,440 killed since 7 October 2023.
Egypt's $53bn plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, backed by the Arab League on Tuesday, has an ambitious vision for the architectural future of the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
The 91-page plan, shared with Middle East Eye by officials ahead of the extraordinary Arab summit, proposes a new urban character for Gaza’s post-war architecture, blending Palestinian heritage with modern technology and designs.
It was a counter-proposal to US President Donald Trump’s declaration last month that he intends to take over Gaza and turn it into a tourism hub while displacing its Palestinian population.
The Egyptian plan, on the other hand, rejects the displacement of Palestinians and seeks to redevelop the enclave without depopulating it.
"Rooted like an olive tree, unwavering, and everlasting" is the motto for the vision.
READ MORE: How a future Gaza would look under Egypt's $53bn plan
Abdullah al-Yazuri is 13 years old and has witnessed death and devastation on a scale that most could never imagine.
Having survived Israel’s deadly war on Gaza, which has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians so far, Abdullah’s dream is to study journalism in distant Britain, where his father got his PhD.
But in recent weeks, Abdullah has found himself at the centre of a national row in Britain, triggered by his role narrating a BBC documentary on Gaza’s children, Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone.
Speaking to Middle East Eye this week, Abdullah described spending hours being filmed in the besieged enclave during the war.
He said that he had hoped that the documentary could “spread the message of the suffering that children in Gaza witness.”
READ MORE: Palestinian child in Gaza documentary row holds BBC responsible for fate
