US President Donald Trump says the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal should be canceled if all hostages are not released by 12 p.m. on Saturday.
“Let all hell break loose,” he tells reporters from the Oval Office, reiterating the threat he made several times before entering office.
The tough talk comes after Hamas said it was delaying the release of hostages, imperiling the ceasefire.
Trump notes that it is ultimately up to Israel, and adds “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”
My Comments:
Indeed the Israelis have not gone out full force on the ground assault against Hamas because of the hostages. That is the purpose of taking hostages in the first place - to be used as bargaining chips, to extract ransom and to be used as human shields. An all out Israeli ground attack can cause the elimination of the hostages.
If Hamas gives up all the hostages they completely lose all that bargaining power. Once all the hostages are released the Israelis can simply level Gaza if they want to. So most obviously all the hostages will never be released, regardless of what President Trump said about moving Gazans out of Gaza.
The better option would be to exert pressure on Qatar. Qatar is 'Hamas on steroids'.
