President Donald Trump spoke Friday evening from the Oval Office, saying the U.S. is in “deep negotiation” with Hamas over Israeli hostages in Gaza. He also reiterated his earlier warning that
some of the remaining hostages may have “recently died.”
“We’re in very deep negotiation with Hamas. We said, let them all out right now, let them all out, and much better things will happen for them. But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation. It’s going to be nasty,” Trump told reporters.
Trump repeated his claim from late August that among the roughly 20 hostages still alive in Gaza, some may have already died. “I think of the 20, there could be some that have recently died, is what I’m hearing. I hope that’s wrong, but you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation,” he said, without providing further details.
His comments came on the same day Hamas released a video showing two hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel, as the Israeli military prepares to take control of Gaza City. The planned offensive has sparked concern among IDF leaders and the hostages’ families, who fear it could put the remaining hostages at risk.
Trump also credited U.S. efforts, particularly the work of special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, for securing the release of “almost all” of the hostages so far. “We got, like, a tremendous number out, but I always said, when you get down to the final 10 or 20, you’re not going to get them out unless you’re going to do a lot,” Trump said. “And doing a lot means capitulation.” Photo by Template:Wmcu, Wikimedia commons.
