Merve Aydogan
March 06, 2025•Update: March 06, 2025
HAMILTON, Canada
US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning Wednesday to the Palestinian group Hamas, threatening severe consequences if all hostages held in Gaza are not immediately freed.
"'Shalom Hamas' means Hello and Goodbye - You can choose. 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. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Pledging full support for Israel, he warned that Hamas leaders would not be safe if they failed to comply.
"I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say," he said.
Trump called on Hamas’s leadership to leave Gaza while they "still have a chance."
"This is your last warning!" he wrote.
He also directed a message to the people of Gaza, linking their future to the fate of the hostages.
"A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision," he said.
“RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”
Trump's post came following his meeting with eight hostages released from Gaza.
A statement from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories."
The hostages -- Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani -- thanked Trump "for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home."
Leavitt shared a photo on X of the hostages with Trump in the Oval Office.
Israel decided Sunday to halt aid shipments, hours after the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas expired.
The first six-week phase of the agreement, which took effect in late January, officially ended at midnight Saturday.
Israel, however, has not agreed to move forward to the second phase of the deal to permanently end the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,400 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
