Not stopping there, US President Donald Trump also threatened to cut aid to Jordan and Egypt if these two countries do not accept Palestinian refugees.
The Times of Israel reported that speaking to reporters on February 10, President Donald Trump expressed his outrage after Hamas announced it would postpone the release of hostages scheduled for February 15, citing Israel’s failure to comply with the agreement. Mr. Trump warned that if all hostages were not released by noon on February 15, Israel should cancel the ceasefire and “let hell break loose.”
“We want all the hostages back, not just a trickle,” Trump stressed, adding that the hostages held by Hamas “won’t be around much longer.”
Earlier, Hamas released 16 hostages of Israel and 5 Thai hostages in the first phase of the exchange agreement with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. However, there are still 73 Israeli detained in Gaza, of which at least 34 have been confirmed.
Not only did President Trump stop at pressuring Hamas, he also warned that he would cut aid to Jordan and Egypt if these two countries refused to accept Palestinian refugees.
“If they don’t agree, I can cut off aid,” Mr. Trump declared, emphasizing that the US provides billions of dollars to these two countries every year.
Trump's above -mentioned stance immediately faced strong opposition from Arab countries. Both Jordan and Egypt refused to plan to relocate the Palestinians from Gaza, considering this as a forced expulsion.
Previously, Mr. Trump also caused shock when he announced that he wanted the US to take over Gaza and turn the area into a "resort paradise", while rejecting the possibility of Palestinians returning to their homeland.
“We will build a permanent settlement for them, in a more beautiful land, away from the danger zone,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News.
The plan has been condemned as a form of "ethnic cleansing" and has met with strong opposition from Hamas and international human rights organizations.
President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Jordanian King Abdullah today (February 11) to discuss the issue, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is about to travel to the Middle East to seek support for the Palestinian resettlement plan.
Tensions are escalating as Israel has also put its military on high alert. Will Hamas give in to Trump's ultimatum, or will a new war break out this weekend?
