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Hamas has accused Donald Trump of seeking to undermine the shaky pause in hostilities in Gaza with his latest intervention in the region: a new and fierce ultimatum telling the group to release all hostages.
The militant Islamist organisation said Trump’s threats constituted support for attempts by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to back out of the ceasefire agreement.
“These threats complicate matters … and encourage [Israel] to avoid implementing its terms,” the Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasim said in a statement on Thursday.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump told Hamas to “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”.
Fighting in Gaza has been halted since 19 January under a truce arranged with US support and Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
However, the first phase of the ceasefire ended on Saturday and talks on the second phase have stalled.
The US president’s post came hours after the White House confirmed the US had entered direct negotiations with Hamas, potentially bypassing Israel to secure the release of US hostages still held by the group.
“‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye,” Trump wrote in his social media post on Wednesday, in an apparent reference to the beginning of direct talks with the group.
Official Israeli reaction to that development was limited to a single-sentence statement late on Wednesday stating that “Israel has expressed to the US its position regarding direct talks with Hamas”.
Trump’s ultimatum followed a White House meeting between the US president and a group of hostages recently released by Hamas.
Hamas seized about 250 hostages during the surprise raid into Israel in October 2023 that triggered the war. Approximately 1,200, mostly civilians, were killed during that attack. Fifty-nine hostages are still held by Hamas, though Israeli intelligence services believe more than half are dead.
Hamas says it wants to proceed to second-phase negotiations that could lead to a permanent end to the war with the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the devastated Palestinian territory and the release of all hostages.
Trump reiterated his support for Israel and referred to a recent decision to provide billions more in support for Israeli arms sales. “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,” Trump wrote.
“This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.” He added: “Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”
Trump also made clear there could be repercussions for Gaza as a whole, where more than 48,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and vast swathes of the territory laid waste during the 16-month Israeli offensive.
Since the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods entering Gaza, demanding Hamas release the remaining hostages without beginning negotiations to end the war.
Aid agencies say the humanitarian crisis in the territory remains acute, with needs barely met by the increased flow of aid in late January and last month.
Trump wrote: “To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!”
Hamas has confirmed the talks with the US, saying there had been two direct meetings between US officials and Hamas in Doha, the Qatari capital, in recent days. White House officials have said Israel was consulted on the “ongoing … discussions” with Hamas.
Israel’s consul general in New York, Ofir Akunis, sought to downplay the contacts in an interview with Fox News. “There is a new attitude from the White House … against Hamas. They can talk with Hamas, that’s OK,” he told the network.
“I think that the main thing is that President Trump actually changed the whole idea. Instead of putting Israel under pressure, President Trump is putting Hamas under pressure, and this is the right thing to do,” Akunis said, in comments widely reported in Israel.
The US has never before engaged with Hamas, which it declared a terrorist organisation in 1997.
Talks about the second phase of the ceasefire that were supposed to start weeks ago have been repeatedly postponed.
Many analysts have warned that Netanyahu had little intention of maintaining the agreement because a definitive end to the conflict could threaten his hold on political power within Israel.
With Trump in the White House, Netanyahu and his close advisers may also believe they can secure better terms or even the release of more hostages without major concessions.
Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, has denied Israel breached the ceasefire deal by not advancing to stage two talks. He said there was “no automaticity” between the stages and accused Hamas of violating the agreement to allow aid into Gaza by seizing most of the supplies for its own benefit.
Trump, who previously warned there would be “hell to pay” in the region unless the remaining hostages were released, was widely credited with forcing Netanyahu to agree to the ceasefire plan.
