On September 5 (US time), US President Donald Trump said that Washington is conducting "very in-depth" negotiations with Hamas, and called on the group to release all hostages still held in Gaza. He warned that the situation would become "difficult" and "terribly" if Hamas continued to keep the Israelis in hand.
Mr. Trump affirmed: "Leave it all now, immediately. If they do, better things will come to them, otherwise, the situation will become harsh and troublesome. The US leader also revealed that Hamas is demanding some unacceptable things, but did not specify the details.
According to Israeli statistics, after the October 2023 attack, Palestinian gunmen took more than 250 hostages to Gaza, of which about 50 are still held until now and only 20 are believed to be alive. Hamas has proposed releasing some hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, while Trump has repeatedly stressed his hope that all will be released.
The conflict in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced all of the population and led to accusations of war crimes and crimes of gender reassignment against Israel. Tel Aviv has denied the allegations. Mr. Trump, during his election campaign, promised to quickly end the conflict, but so far there has been no solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that the war will only end when all hostages are released, Hamas is deprived of weapons, Israel establishes security control in Gaza and a replacement civilian government is established. In contrast, Hamas demanded an end to the conflict and Israel withdrew all its forces from the area.
