Trump says US may lose patience with ceasefire deal after seeing ‘emaciated’ Israeli hostages
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Hamas militants handing over (from left, holding certificates) Israeli hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy to a Red Cross team in Gaza on Feb 8.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Feb 9 said he was losing patience with the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after seeing footage of the Palestinian militant group releasing Israeli hostages
Mr Trump’s reaction to seeing images of the three hostages, who appeared gaunt upon their release on Feb 8, brought fresh uncertainty over the deal’s fate before all remaining 76 hostages are freed, and came days after the President called for the removal of Palestinians from the enclave and for the US to take control of it.
“They look like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated,” Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. “I don’t know how much longer we can take that... at some point, we’re going to lose our patience.”
“I know we have a deal... they dribble in and keep dribbling in... but they are in really bad shape,” Mr Trump said of the Israeli hostages.
Mr Ohad Ben Ami and Mr Eli Sharabi, who were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, and Mr Or Levy, who was abducted that day from the Nova music festival, were led onto a Hamas podium by gunmen on Feb 8 ahead of their release to the Israeli authorities.
The three men appeared in worse condition than the 18 other hostages previously freed under the truce, which was agreed to on Jan 15, months into the war. Many Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel have also appeared thin and emaciated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Feb 8 that the sight of the frail hostages was shocking and would be addressed. In exchange for the three men, Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners on Feb 8.
Released hostage Eli Sharabi reacts to people who came to cheer him up after his arrival at Sheba Medical Centre, for treatment, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Feb 8.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mr Trump also told reporters he remained committed to having the US buy and take ownership of Gaza
“As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.” REUTERS
