Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has suggested that Hamas is refusing to agree to a Gaza truce because it fears what comes after all the Israeli captives are released.Trump’s comments at the White House on Friday appear to suggest that the US and Israel are not ready to guarantee a lasting end to the war but rather a short-term truce to get Israeli captives out of Gaza.
“We’re down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages,” the US president told reporters. “And basically because of that, they really didn’t want to make a deal.”
Trump blamed the Palestinian group solely for the apparent collapse of the ceasefire talks, saying the group is going to be “hunted down”.
“Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad,” he said.
On Thursday, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington was cutting short its involvement in the negotiations, accusing Hamas of showing “a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”.
Israel also said it withdrew its negotiators from Qatar, where the ceasefire talks were taking place.
Hamas expressed bewilderment at the US position, saying it had made “a sincere commitment to the success of the mediators’ efforts” to reach a deal.
The group also said the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — welcomed its “constructive and positive” position.
Talks have been ongoing for months to secure a 60-day truce that would see the release of 10 …