US President Donald Trump on Sunday commented on the ultimatum he gave to Hamas last week regarding the release of the hostages and said that ultimately it is up to Israel what to do next, in consultation with him.
“I told Bibi, you do whatever you want because, you know, my statement was they've got to come back,” Trump told reporters. “Now, the reason I made that statement was because [Hamas] said they weren't going to deliver, they were not going to deliver the people that they said they were going to deliver, that they agreed to deliver…When I made the statement, they delivered everybody plus an American.”
“Now, the good news is [the hostages who were returned on Saturday] look like they're in pretty good shape because the people from the week before didn't look like they were in good shape. They looked like Holocaust survivors, frankly. Horrible. Whatever happened to them was horrible,” he continued.
As for the next step, Trump said, “That will be up to Israel, in consultation with me.”
Last week, Trump issued a warning to Hamas and said that if it were up to him, the ceasefire and hostage deal should be cancelled if Hamas does not release all the hostages.
“As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12:00 o'clock, I think it's an appropriate time, I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” stated Trump.
“I'd say they ought to be returned by 12:00 o'clock on Saturday. And if they're not returned, all of them, not in drips and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two, Saturday at 12:00 o'clock. And after that, I would say all hell is going to break out,” he added.
Trump also acknowledged that such a decision would be up to Israel, saying, “I'm speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”
Trump's statement came hours after the spokesperson for Hamas' military wing, Abu Obaida, announced that the terrorist organization would postpone the next release of hostages, claiming that Israel violated the terms of the agreement.
Ultimately, Hamas on Thursday issued an official announcement confirming the continuation of the ceasefire deal as was initially agreed upon, meaning that three additional hostages would be released on Saturday - not all of them, as Trump had demanded.
On Saturday, after Hamas released Sagui Dekel-Chen, Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov and Yair Horn from captivity after 498 days, Trump wrote that Israel must now decide what it intends to do regarding the ultimatum set for Hamas.
"Hamas has just released three Hostages from GAZA, including an American Citizen. They seem to be in good shape! This differs from their statement last week that they would not release any Hostages. Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!'' Trump wrote on Truth Social.