US President Donald Trump issued sweeping threats against Hamas and residents of Gaza while his administration confirmed that it was holding direct talks with the group over hostages. The intervention came as a six-week ceasefire expired without agreement on its planned second phase.
In a Truth Social post, Trump demanded that all living hostages be freed immediately and that the bodies of those killed be returned. He told Hamas leaders to leave Gaza while they still could and warned that no member of the group would be safe if it refused. Addressing Gaza's wider population, he wrote that people who held hostages were “DEAD” and promised “hell to pay.”
The remarks followed Trump's White House meeting with eight people released from Gaza: Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration's direct contact with Hamas was a good-faith effort because American lives remained at stake. She also said Israel had been consulted. It was the first acknowledged direct negotiation between the United States and Hamas, an organisation Washington designates as terrorist.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Trump's threats complicated the ceasefire and encouraged Israel to avoid its commitments. He argued that Hamas had fulfilled its obligations during the first stage and that Israel was refusing to proceed to the second, which was intended to exchange more hostages and prisoners, secure an Israeli withdrawal and create a path toward ending the war.
Israel instead backed a proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff to extend the first phase through Ramadan and Passover. Under the plan described by Netanyahu's office, half of the remaining living and deceased hostages would be transferred at the start, with the rest released after agreement on a permanent ceasefire. Hamas rejected that approach, saying it departed from the original multiphase deal.
After the first phase ended, Israel stopped humanitarian aid entering Gaza. Hamas described the closure as punishment and accused Israel of using starvation. The White House said Israel had negotiated in good faith and that the United States would support its decisions after Hamas signalled it was no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire.
Trump's language also sat alongside his proposal for US ownership of Gaza and the relocation of its Palestinian population. The supplied reports noted that he had previously said displaced residents would not be allowed to return. No explanation was offered for how that proposal aligned with the “beautiful future” he promised in his hostage warning.
The direct channel represented a diplomatic break with past US practice, but the public ultimatum narrowed rather than clarified the route to a second-stage agreement. With aid blocked, negotiations stalled and each side accusing the other of abandoning the deal, the remaining hostages and Gaza's civilians faced renewed uncertainty.
