Speaking to reporters during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday night from the East Room of the White House, President Donald Trump issued another warning to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, non-uniformed Palestinians and others still holding hostages in the Gaza Strip.
"We'd like to get all of the hostages and if we don't, it will make us somewhat more violent because they would have broken their word," Trump said.
Trump: If we don't get all the hostages out, it will just make us "somewhat more violent." pic.twitter.com/WmYR78glU5
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 5, 2025
🚨🚨🚨#AllTogether#UntilTheLastHostage#BringThemHomeNow pic.twitter.com/tTFx0V0re8
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) February 5, 2025
Before taking office in January, Trump said there would be "hell to pay" if the hostages were not returned. Israel and Hamas are currently in a ceasefire, negotiated by Trump and his Middle East team, as the second phase of a hostage deal moves forward. American Keith Siegal, who was kidnapped from his home in south Israel on October 7, was released.
The 65-year-old American citizen Keith Siegel from North Carolina just met with his family again after nearly 500 days as a Hamas hostage.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) February 1, 2025
98% of Americans have never heard his name.
It says a lot about the people in power of America’s mass media and their goals pic.twitter.com/4D2pTbCVJu
Trump said during the press conference he wasn't confident the ceasefire would hold, but hoped it could serve as a new beginning in the region.
"I’m hopeful that this ceasefire could be the beginning of a larger and more enduring peace," Trump said. "My administration has been moving quickly to restore trust in our alliance and building American strength throughout the Middle East.”
Normalization efforts and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, which were signed during Trump's first term, are well underway. Netanyahu was asked specifically about Israel's relationship with Saudi Arabia and said he is confident "it will happen."