US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is considering a trip to the Middle East but added he is not planning to take one just yet.
“We're thinking about going to the Middle East, not yet,” Trump told reporters in the White House.
“The hostages are coming back. Some of them have been very, you know, very damaged. You look at the young lady with her hand practically blown off. You know how that happened, right? Did you know that? But when you find out, you're not going to be too happy because it was terrible. But the hostages are starting to come back,” he added, referring to Emily Damari who was returned from Hamas captivity on Sunday, along with Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, and who had lost two fingers during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Trump also asserted that “if I weren't here, they wouldn't be back ever. They would have all died.” He then blamed former President Joe Biden for the Hamas massacre of October 7, saying, “It should have never happened. October 7th should have never happened. Nobody should be dead. But through weakness, they allowed it to happen. And then it was a disaster from there.”
The President also stated that the current hostage release deal would not have happened had it not been for his intervention.
“You go back just six months ago, many of these young people were living. You know, young people don't die like that. They're just dying. And young people aren't dying at 22 and 23 years old. They don't die. But now they're dying. And you wonder why they're dying? They're being killed and they have been killed. But they say six months ago, you would have had 11 more living hostages. Think of that - six months ago. But Biden couldn't get it done. And it was only the imposition that I put on as a deadline that got it done. But it's it's a very sad situation. It should have never happened,” said Trump.
On Monday, Trump hosted families of hostages being held by Hamas, as well as hostages who were freed or rescued, during a victory celebration held at Washington's Capital One Arena after his inauguration as President.
"The work begins. We won, but now we have to bring them home," Trump declared, adding, "Some of the folks here are former hostages. Not a good situation. The three young ladies who came home—they were hurt. One had her fingers blown off. She was trying to defend herself from a bullet, can you believe this? A bullet."
"I don't know, it's a disgrace. We never stopped praying for you. We're so glad you're reunited with your friends and families," he continued.
"Some just want us to bring home their son's body. It should have never happened," Trump said.
In early December 2024, Trump became personally involved in the issue of the hostages held in Gaza when he threatened that there would be "all hell to pay" if the hostages are not freed by the time of his inauguration on January 20.
Trump has repeated that threat multiple times in the weeks since. This past Thursday, before the deal was officially signed in Qatar, Trump again stressed the urgency of finalizing the agreement before his inauguration on Monday.
“We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” Trump stated during a podcast interview with Dan Bongino.
“We shook hands, and we signed certain documents, but it better be done,” he added.
On Saturday, Trump gave an interview to NBC News in which he commented on the ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Asked how confident he was that the hostages would be released, Trump replied, “Well, we’re going to see very soon, and it better hold.”
He also said he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “Just keep doing what you have to do. You have to have — this has to end. We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done.”