President Donald Trump expresses ‘disappointment’ that many of the hostages returned by Hamas were dead, says Israel must decide whether and how to proceed with phase two of the Gaza ceasefire.
By World Israel News Staff
President Donald Trump condemned Hamas on Wednesday, lamenting the fact that many of the hostages returned from the Gaza Strip are already dead.
Speaking with reporters during a cabinet meeting – the first of his second term – Trump expressed his ‘disappointment’ that many of the hostages returned by Hamas were handed over to Israel dead.
“I’m very disappointed when I see four bodies came in today. These were young people – young people don’t die. They [Hamas] think they’re doing us a favor by sending us bodies,” Trump said.
“We got a lot of hostages back but it’s very sad what happened to those people. We had a young lady with her hand practically blown off,” Trump said, referencing ex-hostage Emily Damari, who was wounded on October 7th.
“Do you know why it blew off? Because she put up her hand to try to stop a bullet that was coming her way.”
The comments came shortly after Hamas transferred the remains of four slain Israeli hostages to the International Red Cross for return to Israel.
The latest hostage return, which took place without the Gaza victory ceremonies seen previously, came after Israel suspended the release of Arab terrorists, in protest of the use of hostages in propaganda events.
Trump condemned Hamas as a “vicious group of people,” and appeared to leave the future of the Gaza ceasefire to Israel’s discretion.
“Israel is going to have to decide what they’re doing. Phase one is going to be ending. Think of it, today they sent in four bodies – bodies!”
The president echoed previous comments he made comparing the appearance of returning living captives to Holocaust survivors.
“When I saw the ones who came in two weeks ago, they looked like they just got out of a concentration camp. Then the following week a group came in and they weren’t in as bad a shape.”
“I’ve spoken to a lot of parents and people involved. They want those bodies almost as much, if not more, than they want their son or daughter. It’s incredible the level of importance they place on bringing back the bodies.”
Trump’s comments come just days before the March 2nd deadline marking the end of the first phase of the hostage deal and Gaza ceasefire.
Negotiations for implementing phase two are underway in Doha, Qatar, though the two sides are far from reaching a comprehensive agreement.
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