U.S. President Donald Trump publicly stated on Friday that 20 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, pointing out that "several people may have died in the last few days."
Trump has publicly questioned the number of survivors released by Israel on many occasions in the past few months. He stressed that the actual number of survivors may be even smaller. This statement has repeatedly caused strong uneasiness and panic among the hostage families who have not yet obtained the exact news.
For weeks, the Israeli government has continued to claim that 20 hostages still believe that they are alive, but also acknowledged that the health of at least one to two of them is serious concern. In addition, Hamas and other armed groups have seized the remains of 38 other hostages. However, Trump mistakenly mentioned in an interview with Fox News that "34 people died."
In an exclusive interview with Fox and Friends, Trump said: "I have made it clear to Hamas that we must take all hostages back. We have successfully released all American citizens, and now I am concerned about the remaining hostages, mainly Israelis." At present, Hamas is still seizing the bodies of two American victims, namely Omel Neutra and Itae Chen.
Trump stressed that the United States will no longer accept any part of the hostage release agreement. He admitted that "the release of the last batch of 20 people may be extremely difficult."
Trump reiterated that the US will be committed to resolving the current dilemma in Gaza. However, the Trump administration team's dissatisfaction with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is growing, according to Politics on Thursday. The report pointed out that at the same time that Hamas leaders were discussing the framework of the US hostage agreement in Qatar, Israel launched an attack on these leaders, a move that the US believes has undermined the negotiation process.
A person close to Trump's national security team told Politics: "Every time there is a slight progress, it seems that Israel has launched another air strike, which is why the president and his senior advisers are increasingly disappointed with Netanyahu."
On Friday, the "Hostages and Family Forum of Missing Persons" issued a statement requesting an immediate meeting with Netanyahu. "This week, you not only ordered the destruction of the negotiation process, but also ordered the re-occupation of Gaza City without any logic. You repeatedly put our loved ones in danger of life and death, and meaninglessly put the lives of Israeli soldiers at risk."
At present, armed groups in the Gaza Strip still seized 48 hostages, including 47 of the 251 people who were hijacked by Hamas and other militants since October 7, 2023. At least 26 of them have been confirmed dead by the IDF. According to officials, 20 people are believed to be alive and 2 others are in doubt. Hamas also seized the body of an Israeli soldier who died in Gaza since 2014.
During the ceasefire from January to March this year, Hamas released 30 survivors (including 20 Israeli civilians, 5 soldiers and 5 Thai citizens) and returned the bodies of eight detained persons. In May 2024, the organization released another survivor with dual nationalities in the United States and Israel, which the US called the move a "stance action."
In the week-long ceasefire in November 2023, Hamas released 105 civilians, and four others were released at the beginning of the war. In exchange, Israel released about 2,000 Palestinians in custody, including some prisoners identified as terrorists and security-related suspects.
In addition, the Israeli army successfully rescued 8 survivors during the operation and retrieved 51 hostages. These include three prisoners who were manslaughtered by Israeli troops while trying to escape, and the remains of a soldier who died in 2014.
Last month, Hamas stated that it accepted the proposal of a hostage and ceasefire agreement proposed by the United States - the Israeli side had been pushing for the proposal for months. However, before that, Israel had changed its negotiating stance and announced that it would no longer accept the agreement to release hostages in stages and only agreed to negotiate the release of all hostages at one time.
Hamas expressed his willingness to discuss termination of hostilities, but explicitly rejected the conditions proposed by Israel, including disarmament of Hamas, demilitarization of Gaza, and the establishment of a new government that does not include Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
