Trump: 'IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 hostages' - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Trump on Truth Social demanded Hamas release “ALL 20 hostages,” warning, “Not 2 or 5 or 7! If they do, things will change rapidly... IT WILL END!”

 

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he departs for travel to Pennsylvania from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, July 15, 2025; illustrative.

(photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST/FILE PHOTO)

 

US President Donald Trump called for Hamas to "IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 hostages" in a Wednesday post on Truth Social.

"Not 2 or 5 or 7!" he added.

If Hamas does this, then "things will change rapidly," he added, concluding, "IT WILL END!"

Trump notably only referred to the 20 hostages presumed to be alive, rather than the total 48 hostages held in captivity. 

In a direct message to the US president, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said: "This nightmare cannot end for our nation until ALL 48 hostages are accounted for - both those who survived and those who were brutally murdered during these 700 days of hell." 

They reiterated their demand for Trump to make every effort to ensure that all 48 hostages held in captivity is returned to Israel. 

Trump, on August 22, said there are "probably" fewer than 20 hostages left alive.

US President Donald Trump, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, August 6, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)

US opposes partial deal, Netanyahu claims

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the security cabinet that the US administration also opposes a partial deal in a meeting on Sunday night.

"Forget the partial deals. Go in with full force. Finish it," Netanyahu quoted Trump as saying, adding that Israel’s window of legitimacy from the international community is limited, and that pausing for a partial deal would harm the effort to destroy Hamas.

"Our impression is that Netanyahu's opposition is genuine. He will not agree to a partial deal," ministers said.

Families of hostages held in Gaza set up a visual protest outside the United States Embassy branch in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, calling on Trump to use American leverage to finalize a deal that would bring the hostages home and end the war.

The families arranged a display that included a large table with a mock “Hostage Return Agreement,” a symbolic Nobel Peace Prize certificate, and oversized coins with Trump’s face. The setup was designed to resemble a signing ceremony, underscoring what they described as a “historic opportunity” for the US president.

Amichai Stein and Joanie Margulies contributed to this report. 

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-866246

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