President Donald Trump met with eight freed Israeli and American-Israeli hostages in the Oval Office on Wednesday, saying he was deeply moved by the experience and vowing to punish Hamas and Gaza generally if all are not released.
The hostages included Noa Argamani, Iair Horn, Naama Levy, Eli Sharabi, Omer Shem Tov, Aviva Siegel, Keith Siegel, and Doron Steinbrecher. Sharabi in particular appeared in better health than when he was released several weeks ago, appearing so emaciated that Trump had commented at the time that he looked like a Holocaust survivor.
The hostages thanked Trump profusely for helping to free them, and urged him to free the remaining hostages, roughly 60 of whom remain in Gaza. About two dozen of those are thought to still be alive; the rest are dead.
“We believe you have been sent by God” to release the remaining hostages, one hostage told the president.
Trump was visibly moved, telling the hostages: “I’ve never seen anything like this. … We’ll get them out.”
As Breitbart News reported Wednesday, the Trump administration is now negotiating directly with Hamas, bypassing Qatar and Egypt as middlemen in the hope of making progress. But direct talks also mean direct pressure, as Trump soon showed.
After meeting the hostages, Trump issued a warning to Hamas on his social media platform, Truth Social:
“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! 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. I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed. This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance. Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Trump’s message was well received by many Jewish leaders, who had grown frustrated under President Joe Biden, whose equivocations left Hamas to conclude that it had the upper hand and could use hostages to gain leverage.
It is unclear what Trump will do if Hamas refuses to comply with his demand, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the terrorist organization to take Trump’s warning seriously: “He’ll do it,” Rubio said after Trump’s message.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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