Hamas says Trump’s threats to Palestinians in Gaza ‘complicate’ ceasefire
Hamas has hit back at US President Donald Trump's controversial statement where he threatened Gaza's population with death if Israeli captives were not released.
Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday to warn Hamas that it has a “last chance” to leave the Gaza Strip, adding there will be "hell to pay" if the captives were not released, as he weighs an Arab League plan for the enclave’s reconstruction and governance.
"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."
In a follow-up post, he addressed "the People of Gaza" directly, saying: "A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!"
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement to Anadolu Agency that Trump's threats and his overall rejection of a truce deal complicate the situation.
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"These threats complicate matters regarding the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, and encourage the occupation government not to implement the agreement," Qassem said.
"There is a ceasefire agreement that was signed, and the United States was one of the mediating countries. The agreement stipulates the release of all prisoners over three stages, and Hamas has implemented what it was required to do in the first stage."
He added that Benjamin Netanyahu's government is "evading entering into the second phase negotiations," urging the Trump's administration to pressure Israel to start the next phase of the ceasefire agreement.
'Trump's repeated threats against our people constitute support for Netanyahu to evade the agreement and tighten the siege and starvation against our people'
- Abdul Latif al-Qanou, Hamas spokesperson
Another spokesperson for the Palestinian movement, Abdul Latif al-Qanou, reiterated in a separate statement that the best path to free the remaining Israeli captives was for Israel to enter the second phase of negotiations and "be obligated to abide by the agreement signed under the auspices of the mediators."
"Trump's repeated threats against our people constitute support for Netanyahu to evade the agreement and tighten the siege and starvation against our people," Qanou said.
Meanwhile, the head of Gaza's government media office expressed a similar sentiment, saying that Trump's position only reinforces Netanyahu's crimes against Palestinians.
"Such positions are what give the war criminal Netanyahu the strength and ability to continue his crimes as long as he receives absolute support and encouragement to commit more crimes against 2.4 million people," Salama Maroof said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Our people or their resistance in #Gaza have never been the problem, but the problem has always been the occupation, and what is happening today in the West Bank and Jerusalem is the best evidence," Maroof added, referring to the deadly military campaigns taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories.
US direct talks with Hamas
Trump’s threatening language directed at civilians in Gaza came just hours after the news outlet Axios revealed that the US has been in direct talks with Hamas - an unprecedented move given the group’s designation as a terrorist organisation since 1997.
The two sides met face to face in the Qatari capital Doha and the discussions are ongoing, the White House press secretary confirmed to reporters on Wednesday.
The talks are mainly focused on the release of Edan Alexander, who is believed to be the only living American captive still held in Gaza.
Four other Americans were previously declared dead in captivity.
Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the briefing that with American lives at stake, "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 has proven is what he believes is a good faith effort to do what's right for the American people."
Israel was consulted on the talks, she added.
For his part, Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his government “expressed its position” to Washington about discussions with Hamas.
The Israeli premier has made it clear over the past several days that he is prepared to return to a full-scale war on Gaza, calling up 400,000 reservists, should Hamas refuse to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
Since that phase ended, Israel has reimposed a blockade on Gaza, preventing food, water, fuel, and medicine from entering the enclave. Amnesty, among other human rights groups, has called the move a war crime.
Israel's assault on Gaza has left over 48,000 dead, the majority of them civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry. A further 10,000 at least are missing and presumed dead.
The approximately 2.2 million inhabitants of the besieged territory have been displaced in their entirety, living in catastrophic conditions, while around 200,000 have been killed, are missing, or have been forcibly displaced from the strip.
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