WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a “last warning” to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the militant group.
Trump, in a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, added that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.”
“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,” Trump said. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”
The pointed language from Trump came after the White House said Wednesday that US officials have engaged in “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held US policy of not directly engaging in the militant group.
Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha come as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. It’s the first known direct engagement between the US and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide detail on the the substance of talks, but said President Donald Trump has authorized his envoys to “talk to anyone.” Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries have served as mediators with Hamas for the US and Israel since the group launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war.
“Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president ... believes is a good-faith effort to do what’s right for the American people,” she said.
Leavitt added that Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials, and noted that there are “American lives at stake.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office offered a terse acknowledgement of the US-Hamas talks. “Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas,” the prime minister’s office said.
Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages — including Edan Alexander, an American citizen — as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza.
Adam Boehler, Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, led the direct talks with Hamas. Boehler, founder and CEO of Rubicon Founders, a health care investment firm, was a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team during Trump’s first term that strove to win broader recognition of Israel in the Arab world.
The talks, which took place last month, focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that no progress was made but “the step itself is promising” and more talks are expected. Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped arrange the talks.
The direct engagement comes as continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains uncertain. Trump has signaled that he has no intentions of pushing Netanyahu away from a return to combat if Hamas doesn’t agree to terms of a new ceasefire proposal, which the Israelis have billed as being drafted by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group’s main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a key component of the first phase.
Trump on Wednesday welcomed eight former hostages — Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani — to the White House.
“The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories,” Leavitt said. “The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.”
The talks between US and Hamas officials were first reported earlier Wednesday by the news site Axios.
Leavitt, the White House press secretary, is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
https://arab.news/j72p4
Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
- “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,” Trump says
Delivery drivers dodge debris to keep Gulf fed under Iranian attacks
- Thousands of couriers on motorcycles have been working full throttle to ensure food, home supplies and whatever else a customer might need is available
- UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan walked with his massive entourage through Dubai Mall pausing for an occasional selfie
DUBAI: As air raid sirens wail and explosions echo off glass skyscrapers, Gulf delivery drivers have emerged as unlikely heroes, providing a lifeline to frightened residents sheltering from Iranian attacks.
Airports, embassies, residential areas and military installations across the region have come under fire from daily salvos of Iranian missiles and drones since the war between the Islamic republic, Israel and the US broke out on Saturday.
While weaving through Gulf metropolizes’ traffic was never entirely safe, delivery drivers now face danger from the skies with the risk of falling debris from drones and interceptors.
Nonetheless, thousands of couriers on motorcycles have been working full throttle to ensure food, home supplies and whatever else a customer might need is available with the tap of an app.
During the war’s first hours, Agyemang Ata was in a mall in Dubai, waiting for an order when the first explosions rang out, but the 27-year-old has no plans to leave.
“My mom, sister and family have been calling me but I told them I am OK, they don’t need to worry about me,” Ata told AFP.
“I will stay here and work. Dubai is a safe place for me.”
To most residents, drivers like Ata were just an anonymous army keeping the hassles of daily life at bay — and to some, another traffic hazard on already busy streets.
Now, however, people are heralding their vital role, with many on social media describing them as “heroes” risking their lives to keep the Gulf running.
Further north in Kuwait, driver Walid Rabie said the fear was constant.
“We carry our lives along with the orders,” he told AFP
At least seven civilians have been killed in the Gulf since Iran began its attacks — many of them foreign laborers, who make up a large part of the region’s workforce.
Washington said six US service members have also been killed, four of them in Kuwait.
‘I have struggled’
The UAE has seen a disproportionate number of attacks, with the Ministry of Defense saying authorities have worked to intercept more than 900 drones and about 200 missiles fired at their territory.
“I’m afraid, I won’t lie,” said Franklin, a delivery driver in Dubai.
The need to earn a living outweighs other anxieties over the war, but maintaining his regular pace has been difficult under the new circumstances, and the number of orders has dropped.
“Before, I used to complete between 10 and 15 orders a day,” he explained. “But since this started, I have struggled to get even eight.”
The life of the drivers cuts a stark contrast to the region’s numerous influencers on social media, who have continued to party during the war, or to the city’s well-heeled expats, some of whom have dropped six figures on chartered flights out of neighboring countries to escape.
In Bahrain, where the sounds of explosions have continued for a sixth day, a foreign worker at a food delivery company said the situation was worrying at first but he has begun to get used to it — especially since he needs the job.
“I go out to work almost every day. I follow the news and hope the crisis will end,” said Ajit Arun, 32.
“We take precautions while driving, especially when the sirens sound.”
Across the Gulf, governments have implored their citizens and residents to avoid posting misinformation about the war and rely on official channels for news.
Others have sought to present an image of normality.
UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan walked with his massive entourage through Dubai Mall pausing for an occasional selfie.
But on the city’s streets, the reality of war weighed heavily, casting questions for some over future plans to stay in the Gulf.
“If things continue like this, I cannot risk my life,” said Franklin. “It would be better for me to return to my country.”
