'They want to die': Donald Trump blames Hamas for Gaza ceasefire collapse, asks Israel to ‘finish the job'
In a statement before leaving for a weekend trip to Scotland, Trump said, 'It got to be to a point where you're gonna have to finish the job.'
The US president argued that the Palestinian militant group was not ready to hand over the remaining captives in Gaza because "they know what happens after you get the final hostages".
'And, basically, because of this, they didn't really wanna make a deal. So, they pulled out [of the negotiations],' Trump said.
Trump's statement came after the US and Israeli negotiators quit indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar, citing concerns that Hamas was not "coordinated" or "acting in good faith."
Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, had then said he was exploring "alternative options" to secure the release of hostages.
Trump's comments on Friday marked a clear shift from just weeks ago when Trump appeared confident a deal was close that would end the conflict, release remaining hostages, and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, CNN noted.
When asked about his recent interactions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said only that they were "sort of disappointing." He added, "They're gonna have to fight and they're gonna have to clean it up. You're gonna have to get rid of 'em."
While Trump placed blame squarely on Hamas, officials in Egypt and Qatar described the current pause in talks as "normal in the context of these complex negotiations." An Israeli official also said the talks had "not at all" collapsed.
Meanwhile, -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling "alternative" options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave, where starvation is spreading and most of the population is homeless amid widespread ruin.
(With inputs from ANI, agencies)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump, EU's Von Der Leyen cite conflicting details on trade deal
President Trump and European Commission President Von der Leyen's new trade agreement reveals discrepancies in key details, highlighting the challenges in its implementation. The EU agreed to a 15% tariff on most exports to the US, but disagreements persist regarding pharmaceuticals, steel, and aluminum. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appear to differ on some key details in their new trade agreement, underscoring the difficulty they may have in turning this deal into a European Union said it would accept a 15% tariff on nearly all its exports to the US. Trump told reporters that the bloc also agreed to open up its 'countries to trade at zero tariff.'After he met with von der Leyen Sunday, Trump said that the deal would not include pharmaceuticals, a contentious point in the negotiations, seeming to imply they would be subject to a higher a separate news conference, von der Leyen said, 'The EU agreed we have 15% for pharmaceuticals.' But she added, 'Whatever decisions later – by the president of the US – that's on a different sheet of paper.'Senior US officials later said that the two sides agreed on a 15% tariff level for the EU's pharmaceutical exports. A separate Section 232 probe on pharmaceuticals is still coming over the next three weeks, but the EU tariff level will remain at 15%, the officials US has initiated investigations into whether the import of certain products, such as aerospace and semiconductors, poses a national security threat to the country. This could lead to separate tariffs on some accords typically require years of negotiations and can run thousands of pages long. Talks on the preliminary agreement clinched on Sunday began in April and concrete details appear EU and US also diverged on another controversial sector, with Trump saying that the 50% tariff on steel and aluminum 'stays the way it is.' Von der Leyen said that metal 'tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place.'The deal doesn't cover the EU's steel and aluminum exports, which will remain subject to 50% tariffs, according to senior US officials. Aerospace tariffs, meanwhile, will remain at 0% pending the outcome of a Section 232 probe, the officials der Leyen argued that she won certainty and stability for companies on both sides of the Atlantic. But it's far from clear that the EU and US will be able to iron out all their differences on the many contentious issues yet to deal with.'The focus will now turn to interpretation and implementation risk, posing a mix of political and technical questions,' Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, wrote in a note. 'Given the nature of the deal, major uncertainties are likely to persist.'
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
22 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Asian shares mixed as Wall Street rally lifts US stocks to fresh records
Stock markets in Asia were mixed on Monday after US stocks rose to more records as they closed out another winning week. US futures and oil prices were higher ahead of trade talks in Stockholm between US and Chinese officials. European futures rose after the European Union forged a deal with the Trump administration calling for 15 per cent tariffs on most exports to the US. The agreement announced after President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland staves off far higher import duties on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1 per cent to 41,056.81 after doubts surfaced over what exactly the trade truce between Japan and US President Donald Trump, especially the $550 billion pledge of investment in the US by Japan, will entail. Terms of the deal are still being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing, said an official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks. The official suggested the goal was for a $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.4 per cent to 25,490.45 while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2 per cent to 3,587.25. Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.3 per cent. CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong conglomerate that's selling ports at the Panama Canal, said it may seek a Chinese investor to join a consortium of buyers in a move that might please Beijing but could also bring more U.S. scrutiny to a geopolitically fraught deal. CK Hutchison's shares fell 0.6 per cent on Monday in Hong Kong. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi was little changed at 3,195.49, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 per cent to 8,688.40. India's Sensex slipped 0.1 per cent. Markets in Thailand were closed for a holiday. On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent to 6,388.64, setting an all-time for the fifth time in a week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 per cent to 44,901.92, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.2 per cent, closing at 21,108.32 to top its own record. Deckers, the company behind Ugg boots and Hoka shoes, jumped 11.3 per cent after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. Its growth was particularly strong outside the United States, where revenue soared nearly 50 per cent. But Intell fell 8.5 per cent after reporting a loss for the latest quarter, when analysts were looking for a profit. The struggling chipmaker also said it would cut thousands of jobs and eliminate other expenses as it tries to turn around its fortunes. Intel, which helped launch Silicon Valley as the U.S. technology hub, has fallen behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices while demand for artificial intelligence chips soars. Companies are under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits to justify big gains for their stock prices, which have rallied to record after record in recent weeks. Wall Street has zoomed higher on hopes that President Donald Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will lower his stiff proposed tariffs, along with the risk that they could cause a recession and drive up inflation. Trump has recently announced deals with Japan and the Philippines, and the next big deadline is looming on Friday, Aug 1. Apart from trade talks, this week will also feature a meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Trump again on Thursday lobbied the Fed to cut rates, which he has implied could save the US government money on its debt repayments. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said he is waiting for more data about how Trump's tariffs affect the economy and inflation before making a move. The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates. In other dealings early Monday, US benchmark crude oil gained 24 cents to $65.40 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, also added 24 cents to $67.90 per barrel. The dollar rose to 147.72 Japanese yen from 147.71 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1755 from $1.1758. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mint
36 minutes ago
- Mint
Act now: Gaza faces imminent mass starvation
Starvation-faced Gaza needs the world to intervene. In one of the past century's biggest ironies, stark scenes of emaciation from this patch of land under Israeli siege resemble black-and-white footage of the inmates found in European concentration camps that US soldiers stumbled upon at the end of World War II. Also Read: Why Israel's chaotic new food program in Gaza has turned so deadly That any regime could treat humans so badly was met with disbelief at first, but led to 'never again" as a global pledge. In Gaza, while Tel Aviv has conceded air-drops of food in response to international protests against its aid-blockade policy, grim news abounds. Also Read: A flawed attempt at delivering Gaza aid led to a wave of deaths Israeli military attacks after Gaza-based Hamas's 2023 terror strikes have left about 60,000 Gazans dead—most of them children and women—estimates suggest. Adding to that toll now are hunger deaths. Also Read: Washington struggles to rein in an emboldened Israel The food squeeze has already taken the lives of 127 people, 85 of them children, going by the count of Gaza's health ministry. With reports of underfed doctors fainting at work, the fear of imminent mass starvation is all too real to overlook. Both Israel and its big backer, the US, have shown their might in the region. It's now time for Uncle Sam to either mount or lead a rescue mission. Or risk being on the wrong side of history.
