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Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas over hostages / Photo: © AFP
Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas over hostages
US President Donald Trump said Sunday he was issuing a "last warning" to Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group must accept a deal to release hostages in Gaza.
"The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning," Trump said on social media, without elaborating further.
In early March, Trump issued a similar warning to Hamas after meeting eight freed hostages at the White House, demanding it free all remaining hostages immediately and turn over bodies of dead hostages, saying if not, "it is OVER for you."
Militants seized 251 hostages during the massive October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, with 47 still believed to be in Gaza.
The Israeli military says 25 of them are dead. Israel is seeking the return of their remains.
On Friday, Trump said the United States was "very deep in negotiations with Hamas" while suggesting that more hostages could have died in Gaza.
"We said let them all out right now, let them all out, and much better things will happen for them," Trump said of Hamas-held hostages, warning that if they did not, "it's going to be nasty."
Israel's army bombed a Gaza City residential tower Sunday -- the third in as many days -- after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the military was "deepening" its assault on the Gaza Strip's key urban centre.
A day earlier, Israeli protesters took to the streets to call on their government to reverse the decision to seize Gaza City, fearing for the fate of hostages believed to be held there.
On Friday, in Tel Aviv, relatives of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip released yellow ballons to mark 700 days of captivity.
The October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.
A. Walsh--BTZ
