US Hamas Talks | Trump's Ultimatum To 'Sick & Twisted' Hamas Over Hostage Deal

Amid the fragile Israel-Hamas Hostage deal, United States has broken it decade old policy against negotiating with groups that America brands as terrorist organisation, said Reuters on March 05. The United States hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler held secret talks with the Hamas officials on securing the release of Americans hostages held in Gaza. Boehler and Hamas officials met in Doha in recent weeks, two sources briefed on the negotiations said. However, it was not clear who represented Hamas group. Meanwhile, the United States President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum over the release of the remaining hostages and return of the dead bodies of the captives. Trump, at the White House, met a group of hostages who had been released recently under the Gaza ceasefire deal, and he issued a stark new threat against Hamas in a social media post. He demanded that Hamas must "release all of the hostages now, not later," including the remains of dead hostages, 'or it would be OVER for them.' In a supporting tone, Trump further said that Israel has been assigned to do the job threatening that no Hamas member would be safe reiterating his "hell to pay" threat to the militant group. The US had long avoided direct engagement with the Islamist group, which carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a devastating Gaza war that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. It is to be noted that the US State Department designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997. As of now, the US role in helping to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement has been dealing with Israel and Qatari and Egyptian mediators, but without any known direct communications between Washington and Hamas.