Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump Saturday claimed that Israel has paused its bombardment of Gaza “in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed”, warning “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed. Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off.”
Earlier on Friday, Hamas agreed to release all hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, as well as surrender governing power in the Gaza Strip. However, the Palestinian militant group asked for further negotiations on other parts of the plan, and did not say whether it would lay down its arms – a major part of Trump’s proposal announced on Monday.
In his post, Trump insisted he will “not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again,” before calling for a swift resolution: “Let’s get this done, FAST.”
The post comes hours after there were reports that explosions and gunfire were continuing into the early morning in Gaza. Dozens of overnight air strikes and artillery shelling claimed at least six lives and left scores more injured.
After the Hamas response, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement cited by local media saying Israel was preparing for an “immediate implementation” of the first stage of the plan for the immediate release of all hostages.
“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the president and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles laid out by Israel, which correspond with Trump’s vision for ending the war,” the statement said.
