Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas over hostages

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump gave the Palestinian militant organization Hamas a "last warning" regarding the release of all hostages. On his Truth Social platform, Trump demanded that the hostages be released "now, not later," and that the bodies of dead hostages be returned immediately, and threatened that if they did not, it is "over" for them. Trump referred to Hamas as "sick and twisted" for keeping the bodies of dead hostages.

The organization has been at war with Israel since October 2023, when Hamas led an attack on Israel which resulted in the capture of at least 250 people in Israel during the attack. In January, the two parties both agreed to a ceasefire proposal, though the circumstances of the ceasefire are currently being disputed.

US officials have confirmed that the US government has been communicating with Hamas, abandoning a long-established US policy of not directly communicating with the organisation. Since the US' classification of Hamas as a terrorist organisation in 1997, it is the first confirmed direct communication between the US government and Hamas.

Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary of the White House, refused to elaborate on the talks, though noted that Trump had allowed his officials to communicate with anyone. Leavitt stated, "[l]ook, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people is something that the president ... believes is a good-faith effort to do what's right for the American people." According to Leavitt, Israel had been alerted regarding the talks.