US President Donald Trump stated on Friday (local time) that he was uncertain about what would happen on Saturday at noon, referencing the deadline he had set earlier in the week. Trump had warned that “all hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release hostages still being held in Gaza by that time. He reiterated his call for Hamas to release all hostages.
Speaking to reporters, Trump discussed the hostages who were released last week, emphasizing how weak they appeared after their captivity in Gaza. He accused Hamas of mistreating hostages severely.
When asked about his earlier deadline for the release of hostages, Trump stated, “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow at 12 o’clock. It was up to me. I’d take a very hard stance. I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do. But, I watched the last people come out and I looked at it before and after the picture. One guy was a big, strong, healthy guy. Could say he was a little bit overweight? He’s not overweight anymore. He looks like he just came out of the Holocaust. It looks like a Holocaust picture. I’ve looked at him for a long time, and they’ve been treated very badly.”
Trump recalled Hamas’ previous announcement that they would not release hostages, noting that they suddenly changed their decision.
“A young lady came out last week. Her hand was blown off. I mean, literally, her hand was trying to stop a bullet that was headed for her face. She put up her hand. She goes like this and wiped out her fingers and a lot of her hands. Now, I would take a different stance. But it depends, look, it depends on what Bibi (Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu) is going to do. It depends on what Israel is going to do. But, now, I understand they’ve totally changed. Hamas has totally changed. They want to release hostages now again. But you have to see this started by them saying we’re not going to release the hostages as we said we were. I said, good, you have till 12 o’clock on Saturday, which is tomorrow at 12 o’clock to do it. And we didn’t hear anything, then all of a sudden, two days ago, they said, no, we’ve decided we’re going to release the hostages.”
Trump insisted that Hamas should release all hostages. “Remember, they’re probably as bad as they looked. I mean, I don’t like to say that, but they look terrible. Four days ago, five days ago when I saw the young ladies that came out were treated really badly. You don’t know what happened, but I do. They were treated really badly. But, as bad as they look, the ones that follow probably will look a lot worse. I think they’re sending out their most healthy and they’ve been hit hard on that Hamas. So, they probably didn’t want to release it. But, they obviously changed their mind. I said 12 o’clock tomorrow and all of a sudden, two days ago yesterday, they said we’re going to release. But, this all started with them saying we are not going to release any more hostages and then yesterday they said they were going to release the hostages. But, I think they should release all the hostages.”
On Monday, Hamas had threatened to delay the next scheduled hostage release set for Saturday “until further notice,” accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement. After signing executive orders on February 10, Trump warned, “As far as I’m concerned if all the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock – I think it’s an appropriate time – I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” CNN reported.
He further stated, “I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 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 o’clock, and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out.”
When asked about what “all hell” would entail in Gaza, Trump responded, “You’ll find out, and they’ll find out — Hamas will find out what I mean,” according to CNN.
“I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it, but from myself, Saturday at 12 o’clock, and if they’re not – they’re not here, all hell is going to break out,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office announced on Friday that three male hostages, Sagui Dekel Chen, Sasha Troufanov, and Iair Horn, were set to be released by Hamas on Saturday as part of the sixth hostage-prisoner exchange under the ongoing ceasefire agreement.
Hamas confirmed the identities of the three hostages through Egyptian and Qatari mediators, stepping back from its previous threat to delay the release. In recent weeks, Hamas has released 16 Israelis and five Thai hostages under the ceasefire agreement, which also mandates Israel to release around 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners, including hundreds convicted of terrorist activities.
According to reports, 73 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023, remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 individuals confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).