Egypt Daily News – Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem stated on Thursday that the threats issued by U.S. President Donald Trump against the movement “complicate matters related to the ceasefire agreement and push the occupation government to become more intransigent.”
According to the Palestinian Information Center, Qassem said in a press statement today: “An agreement was signed, with Washington as a mediator, which includes the release of all prisoners in three phases. Hamas has fulfilled its obligations in the first phase, while Israel is evading the second phase.”
Qassem emphasized that “if Trump is genuinely interested in the release of Israeli prisoners, he must pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza agreement.”
He added: “The U.S. administration must press the occupation to enter negotiations for the second phase, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.”
Qassem warned that “Israel may exploit Trump’s statements to escalate the siege on Gaza and intensify its policy of starving its residents.”
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanou stated today that “Trump’s repeated threats against our people serve as support for Netanyahu to evade the agreement and tighten the siege and starvation policies against our people.”
Al-Qanou stressed that “the best course to secure the release of the remaining Israeli prisoners is for the occupation to enter negotiations for the second phase and be compelled to abide by the agreement brokered by mediators.”
President Donald Trump had earlier issued what he called a “final ultimatum” to Hamas, demanding the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump warned Hamas that any delay would lead to the group’s “inevitable end,” urging its leadership to “leave Gaza immediately” before it is too late.
Trump’s remarks came after meeting with several freed hostages who shared their suffering, amid rising tensions in the region and growing U.S. support for Israel’s military operations.
