Hamas Condemns Trump’s Threats, Warns of Israeli Exploitation Amid Ceasefire Disputes
Hamas reacts to Trump’s ultimatum, urging U.S. pressure on Israel to honor ceasefire terms, as Gaza suffers under escalating humanitarian crisis.
Watan-The Hamas movement warned today, Thursday, that U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats against the Palestinians constitute support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to renege on the Gaza ceasefire agreement and tighten the siege on Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump threatened Hamas late Wednesday, stating that if they did not release the captives from Gaza, he would “kill all Hamas members,” and demanded that the movement’s leadership leave Gaza “immediately.” Trump published a statement on his official platform, declaring that Hamas must “release all hostages immediately and return the dead, or else its fate will be sealed.” He added that his administration “sent Israel everything it needs to finish the job against Hamas.”
Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif al-Qanouh stated in a text message to Reuters: “The best course of action to release the remaining Israeli prisoners is for the occupation to enter into phase two negotiations and commit to the agreement signed under mediation.”
Hamas Urges U.S. Pressure on Israel Amid Ceasefire Stalemate and Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem commented to Anadolu on Trump’s post: “These threats complicate matters in the ceasefire agreement and encourage the occupation not to implement its terms.” He added, “There was an agreement signed with Washington as a mediator, which involves the release of all prisoners in three phases. Hamas has implemented its part in the first phase, while Israel is evading phase two.”
Qasem continued: “The U.S. administration must pressure the occupation to enter into phase two negotiations, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.” The Gaza ceasefire agreement, which came into effect in January, was negotiated with participation from Trump’s envoy alongside officials from the administration of former President Joe Biden before he left office.
This follows Hamas’ negotiations in Doha with a U.S. representative. A senior Hamas source, speaking exclusively to Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, said that the direct discussions held with Adam Boehler, Trump’s envoy for hostage affairs, followed Trump’s comments two weeks ago regarding Hamas’ gesture of goodwill in releasing American nationals.
The first phase of the ceasefire, lasting 42 days, ended last Saturday, and the second phase has not yet begun due to Israeli procrastination and Netanyahu’s attempts to renege on the agreement. The war has not resumed, but Israel has stopped all humanitarian aid to Gaza, where an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians—about 90% of the population—have been displaced due to the conflict, with famine looming on the horizon.
Martyrdom of a Prisoner from Gaza
On another note, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Club confirmed in a press statement today that the Palestinian Civil Affairs Commission notified them of the martyrdom of detainee Ali Ashour Ali al-Batsh (62 years old) from Gaza at Soroka Hospital, after being transferred from the Negev Prison to the hospital. This marks the addition of another Palestinian martyr who died as a result of the systematic crimes carried out by the prison system, which has been unprecedented since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.
The Commission and the Prisoners Club said that al-Batsh was arrested on December 25, 2023, and confirmed that the occupation not only kills detainees but also manipulates responses regarding their fate, a tactic used many times. They emphasized that all the responses regarding martyrs come from the Israeli army, with no other evidence to confirm their martyrdom, as the occupation continues to withhold their bodies.
In many responses, the occupation states that investigations are ongoing, in an attempt to avoid international accountability, and deliberately delays disclosing the fate of the martyrs. Most of the families of the martyr detainees learned of their deaths days or months after their martyrdom.
The statement from the Commission and the Prisoners Club explained that al-Batsh is the fourth detainee to be announced as a martyr in a short period, raising the number of martyrs among prisoners in Israeli prisons since the start of the war on Gaza to 62, with identities known for only a portion of them, including at least 40 from Gaza.
This marks the highest historical number, making this phase the deadliest in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement since 1967, bringing the total number of martyrs from the movement, whose identities are known since 1967, to 299. Additionally, there are dozens of martyrs from Gaza detainees in forced disappearance, and the number of martyrs whose bodies are withheld stands at 71, including 60 since the war began. The statement concluded that the martyrdom of detainee al-Batsh represents a new crime in the record of the Israeli savage system, which has reached its peak since the start of the genocide war.
