 "'Hope it's wrong': Trump says more hostages may have died 'recently' in Gaza")
US President Donald Trump said Friday that more hostages may have died in Gaza and that the United States was in “deep negotiation” with Hamas amid a new Israeli offensive.
“There could be some that have recently died, is what I’m hearing. I hope that’s wrong, but you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation,” Trump, a staunch ally of Israel, told reporters in the Oval Office.
Militants seized 251 hostages during the massive October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, with 47 still in Gaza.
The Israeli military says 25 of them are dead. Israel is seeking the return of their remains.
Trump at one point said there were “about 38 dead people – young, beautiful dead people” before giving the numbers of 20 and then 30.
Trump suggested that the United States remained in talks with Hamas.
“We’re in very deep negotiation with Hamas,” Trump said.
On Hamas-held hostages, Trump said, “We said let them all out right now, let them all out, and much better things will happen for them.
“But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation, it’s going to be nasty.”
Israel plans to seize Gaza City, the largest city in the territory already in rubble from the war, and has warned it will target all tall buildings it believes are used by Hamas.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
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