Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Monday that the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas should be terminated if Hamas fails to release all remaining hostages in Gaza by noon on Saturday. However, he added that this decision would ultimately be up to Israel.
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02-13, 2025Trump's remarks were a response to Hamas's previous statement accusing Israel of violating the three-week ceasefire agreement and indicating a delay in further hostage releases from the Gaza Strip. Trump believes that after the release of three visibly gaunt hostages on Saturday, it is now time for Israel to demand that Hamas release all hostages by noon on Saturday, or hostilities should resume.
Trump stated firmly: "If they [the hostages] are not released, everything will become very bad. Cancel the ceasefire agreement, all agreements will be null and void." He added that the final decision rests with Israel, emphasizing: "I'm just expressing my personal opinion, Israel can veto it."
When asked whether the U.S. would join actions against Hamas if the hostages were not released, Trump vaguely stated: "Hamas will understand what I mean." Previously, in an interview with Fox News, Trump said that Palestinians have no right to return to Gaza under his plan for the U.S. to "own" the war-torn area of Gaza. This contradicts statements from other officials in his administration, who attempted to argue that Trump was merely calling for a temporary relocation of the Gazan population.
Less than a week after proposing a plan for the U.S. to control Gaza and turn it into a "Middle East Riviera," Trump stated in an interview with Fox News's Bret Baier, aired on Monday, that when asked if Palestinians in Gaza have the right to return to the area, he replied "No, they don't." Concurrently, he increased pressure on Arab countries, particularly U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, to accept Palestinians from Gaza, who claim the area as part of their future homeland.
Trump stated: "We will build safe communities far away from where they are, far away from all these dangerous places. In the meantime, I will own it. Think of it as a future real estate development project. It will be a beautiful land, without spending a lot of money." Arab countries have strongly criticized Trump's proposal, and Trump is scheduled to host King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on Tuesday.
In addition to concerns about endangering the long-term goal of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have also privately expressed security concerns about receiving a large number of additional refugees into their countries, even temporarily. When asked how to persuade Abdullah to accept Palestinians, Trump told reporters: "I think he will accept, and I think other countries will accept. They have kind hearts." But he also threatened to withhold billions of dollars in U.S. aid to Jordan and Egypt if they did not accept his plan. "Yes, maybe, of course, why not?" Trump said, "I might withhold aid if they don't do it, yes."
Trump's remarks could jeopardize the already fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, after the two sides have experienced 15 months of war. The existing negotiation framework calls for massive humanitarian and reconstruction aid to be provided to civilians in Gaza. After Trump made initial comments last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio respectfully insisted that Trump only wanted to relocate Palestinians from Gaza "temporarily" and "provisionally" in order to clear debris, handle unexploded ordnance, and rebuild.
Speaking about the condition of the remaining hostages, Trump told reporters on Monday that he fears Hamas is releasing the hostages in the best condition, while many of those planned for release are seriously ill or have already died. "Based on what I've seen in the past two days, they won't live much longer," he said. After Hamas released the latest hostages on Saturday, Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, the parents of slain American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, released a video message calling on Trump and his negotiating team to "think bolder, think faster" and urging the release of all remaining hostages this week. "Release all 76 hostages this week," they said, "End the war. Who benefits from prolonging the war this long? It doesn't benefit the people of the region. Let's get it done now."
Trump did not rule out deploying U.S. troops to help secure Gaza last week, but insisted that no U.S. funds would be used to pay for the region's reconstruction, raising fundamental questions about the nature of his plan. Egypt reiterated on Monday its rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from their territories in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, warning that such proposals threaten the "foundation" of the people of the Middle East.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is the foundation for "comprehensive and just peace" in the region. The statement said Egypt rejects any infringement on the Palestinians' "right to self-determination...and independence" and "upholds the right of return of Palestinian refugees forced to leave their homes," referring to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes during the 1948 war and now reside within Israel.
Senior Hamas officials slammed Trump's latest remarks about the U.S. owning Gaza as "absurd." Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq said the comments "reflect a profound ignorance of Palestine and the region." In comments released by Hamas earlier on Monday, he said Trump's approach to the Palestinian cause would fail. "Dealing with the Palestinian cause with the mentality of a real estate agent is the root of failure," he said, "Our Palestinian people will thwart all plans for displacement and expulsion."
