Hamas on Thursday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats against the group, saying they complicate matters regarding the Gaza ceasefire agreement and encourage ‘Israel’ not to implement its terms.
“There is an agreement that was signed, and Washington was the mediator in it,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement, adding that the deal “includes the release of all (hostages and) prisoners in three stages. Hamas has implemented what it was required to do in the first stage, while ‘Israel’ is evading the second stage.”
The statement noted that the U.S. administration is required to pressure ‘Israel’ to enter negotiations on the second phase as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.
Trump issued what he called the “last warning” to Hamas on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, saying, “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.”
“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 said in the post.
Unlike his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump conspicuously announces his administration’s support for the Israeli war schemes in Gaza.
A Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, took effect on Jan. 19. During the initial 42-day phase of the deal, dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees were freed.
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