Trump says Hamas won’t release hostages, ‘more military pressure is required’

Trump: “I have one thing to say: Remember October 7.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Speaking to Axios, U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not expect Hamas to release the hostages now and that “more military pressure is needed.”

Although he sent Special Envoy Steve Witkoff repeatedly to the Middle East to negotiate a cease-fire and hostage release deal, Trump now acknowledges that such an agreement is unlikely to materialize.

“They [Hamas] are not going to release the hostages in the current situation. I think it will be very difficult to achieve that,” he said.

Trump did not indicate whether he approved of the Israeli prime minister’s decision to scale up military operations in Gaza and take Gaza City. However, Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the two leaders spoke on the phone Sunday and discussed Israel’s plans to capture Gaza City, defeat Hamas and release the hostages.

Trump also referred to the conversation and called it “a good call.”

Hamas “cannot stay in Gaza,” the president said.

“I have one thing to say: Remember October 7; remember October 7,” Trump told Axios, echoing Netanyahu’s statements during his press conference that “there are those who have forgotten October 7.”

Last week, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed as “fake news” NBC’s reports that Trump yelled at him on the phone concerning allegations of starvation in Gaza. The report was “completely false,” the PMO said, calling it “fake news.”