President Donald Trump has told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do whatever you want” regarding the next steps in the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Speaking from the tarmac after attending the Daytona 500, President Trump shared his current stance on the ongoing crisis in Gaza. “I told Bibi, you do whatever you want,” he stated.
Trump had previously played a key role in brokering a ceasefire in mid-January, focusing on the release of all Hamas hostages.
However, when it became clear that Hamas might not uphold their end of the deal, Trump warned that “all hell is going to break out.” He explained, “My statement was they’ve got to come back now. The reason I made that statement is because they said they weren’t going to deliver the people they agreed to deliver.”
Following Trump’s firm response, Hamas ultimately released all the hostages, including an American. Now, as attention shifts to phase two of the ceasefire agreement, Trump has left the decision of how to proceed to Netanyahu, though he clarified that it would be in consultation with him. “That’ll be up to Israel what the next step is,” he said.
Trump also gave an update on the condition of the recently freed prisoners, saying they were in “pretty good shape,” a stark contrast to the previous group who “looked like Holocaust survivors” after their release.
In a joint statement with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Netanyahu discussed the “common strategy” between the two nations regarding Gaza. The leaders vowed to take strong action against Hamas if the terror group fails to return all hostages as agreed.
“We can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of hell will be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released until the last one,” the statement warned.
“We will eliminate Hamas’ military capability and its political rule in Gaza. We will bring all our hostages home, and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
