Trump: Released Israeli Hostages Look Like ‘Holocaust Survivors,’ U.S. Losing Patience With Hamas
President Donald Trump expressed his revulsion for the terrorist group Hamas after seeing the horrific condition of the three Israeli hostages released last Saturday.
Comparing the frail and emaciated state of the freed Israeli hostages, Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben-Ami, to ‘Holocaust survivors,’ President Trump warned that he was losing his patience with the Gaza-based terrorist group.
“Hamas has been a disaster,” President Trump said Sunday. “I watched the hostages come back – and they looked like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition, they were emaciated. just like Holocaust survivors from many years ago. I don’t know how much longer we can take that.”
“They are in really bad shape, they have been treated brutally, horribly. Even the ones that came out earlier, they were in a little bit better shape, but mentally they were treated so badly,” President Trump told reporters on board Air Force One.
“Who could take that?” President asked. “At some point, we are going to lose our patience. They look like they haven’t eaten for months, there is no reason for this.”
“I don’t know how much longer we can take that. People that were healthy people a reasonably short number of years ago, and you look at them today, they look like they’ve aged 25 years, they literally look like the old pictures of Holocaust survivors, the same thing. No reason for that,” he observed.
The U.S. President made those sharp remarks as the hostages-for-terrorist deal is beginning to falter after Hamas on the weekend paraded the frail and weak Israeli captives at a propaganda event, Israeli media reports suggest.
“Israel expects three more male hostages to be released in the next exchange, though there is growing concern that, as seen on Saturday, some may return in severely deteriorated physical condition,” the Israeli news website YNET reported Sunday.
Israeli politicians across the political spectrum were outraged at the condition of the hostages, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to ‘eliminate’ Hamas to ensure that the terrorist group plays no role in post-war Gaza, The Times of Israel reported:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night threatened Hamas with elimination following the release of three Israeli hostages in emaciated condition earlier in the day, vowing to destroy the Palestinian Islamist terror group.Netanyahu described the organization as “monsters” and said US President Donald Trump agreed with him that Hamas must not remain in power in Gaza. He vowed that Israel would “eliminate the Islamist terror group and return all the remaining hostages.”Government ministers also reacted with horror to the sight of gaunt and frail hostages, describing them as akin to Holocaust survivors, and called for the destruction of the organization.Opposition leaders also deplored the poor condition of the hostages, and insisted their parlous health made it all the more important for the government to secure the urgent release of all remaining captives to alleviate their suffering.
Sixteen of the 33 Israeli hostages slated for release in the first phase of the 3-stage hostages-for-terrorist deal have been freed from the clutches of Hamas. Israel is expected to release 1904 Palestinian terrorists, including convicted murderers, rapists, and terror masterminds, in return for 33 hostages during the first phase of the deal.
The Gaza-based terrorist group continues to hold 73 hostages, many of them presumed to be executed or tortured to death by their Palestinian captors. “As of Sunday, February 9, 73 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF,” The Times of Israel noted. “Hamas has so far released 21 hostages — civilians, soldiers, and five Thai nationals — during the ceasefire that began on January 19.”
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