"Finish the job": Trump says Israel must "get rid" of Hamas
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President Trump with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Trump signaled on Friday that after the breakdown in negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should escalate the war to "get rid" of Hamas.
Why it matters: The crisis in the negotiations comes as the humanitarian situation grows increasingly catastrophic, with more and more reports from the UN and other agencies of Palestinians dying of starvation.
- Trump made the comments after a phone call with Netanyahu.
What he's saying: "Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it's very bad. It got to a point where you have to finish the job."
- Trump added that the Israelis "are gonna have to fight, and they are gonna have to clean it up — you will have to get rid [of Hamas]," Trump told reporters before departing for a trip to Scotland.
- He added that he always thought Hamas wouldn't want to release the remaining hostages because the group didn't want to lose their "bargaining chip" and "their protection."
- "Now they are going to be hunted down," Trump said of Hamas.
Reality check: Israel has been hunting down Hamas militants in Gaza for nearly two years.
- It has killed most of the military leadership that was in place during the Oct. 7 attacks, along with thousands of fighters, but Hamas has not significantly changed its core demands for a ceasefire and hostage deal.
- It's unclear whether more fighting will accomplish what the past 20 months did not.
The group's negotiators, based in Doha, have long argued it was Israel that didn't want to stop the fighting.
- In the past week, though, Israel agreed to a ceasefire proposal from the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, but Hamas attempted to make a counteroffer, which Israel swiftly rejected.
State of play: That led to a breakdown in the indirect negotiations in Doha, which had been showing considerable progress.
- Israel recalled its negotiators, while White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas' response "shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire" and said the U.S. would now consider "alternative options" for bringing the hostages home.
- On Friday, Netanyahu echoed Witkoff's remarks and said Israel and the U.S. would seek "alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas' terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region."
Between the lines: A senior Israeli official said it's still unclear what these alternatives are.
- The official said it was necessary "to create a crisis" to break the deadlock in talks, but argued it was not in Israel's interests for the talks to collapse completely.
What to watch: Nine more people died of starvation-related complications in Gaza over the last 24 hours, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said on Friday.
- The Ministry said 122 Palestinians have died in recent days of similar symptoms, among them 83 children.
- The Israeli government continues to deny there is starvation in Gaza, but a senior Israel Defense Forces official acknowledged the humanitarian situation in Gaza is "very dire" in a briefing with reporters on Friday.
- The official said the Israeli government will allow Jordan and the UAE to resume air drops of food in Gaza due to the situation. Israel last permitted air drops last year when the situation was close to famine. The U.S. participated in those air drops under the Biden administration.
What's next: The Qatari and Egyptian mediators issued a statement Friday claiming the last two weeks of negotiations had made progress and that the talks would just be pausing to allow consultations on both sides before resuming in the coming days.
- A source familiar with the issue said the mediators want to resume talks early next week. Israeli officials say there's no plan at the moment to send the negotiating team back to Doha.
The latest: The leaders of the U.K., Germany and France held an "emergency" phone call on Friday to discuss the situation in Gaza.
- "The time has come to end the war in Gaza. We urge all parties to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire," they said in a joint statement.
- They stressed that the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza "must end now" and called on the Israeli government "to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and urgently allow the UN and humanitarian NGOs to carry out their work in order to take action against starvation," adding: "Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law."
