CAIRO, March 6. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump's recent remarks may significantly escalate the situation regarding the Gaza ceasefire agreement, Hazem Qassem, the spokesman for the Palestinian movement Hamas, stated.
"Trump's threats intensify the situation around the ceasefire agreement and encourage Israel to disregard it," Qassem said in a statement published on Hamas's official Telegram channel. He called on the US administration to "press Israeli authorities to move forward with negotiations for the second phase of the agreement, in line with existing commitments" and announced that Hamas has "fulfilled all the requirements of the first phase" while Israel is "delaying the commencement of the second phase."
Earlier, Trump wrote on his Truth Social network page that Hamas should immediately release all hostages it holds in Gaza and return the bodies of those deceased. The US leader also said that it was the "last warning" and cautioned Gaza residents that a "beautiful Future" for them was only possible if they did not hold hostages. He added that all Hamas leadership in the enclave should leave while they "still have a chance."
On January 15, Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held in the enclave. The agreement, consisting of three phases, was activated on January 19. The first phase expired on March 1. In total, during the first six weeks of the ceasefire, Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages alive and returned the bodies of 8 dead hostages in exchange for over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
On March 2, Israel blocked humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza and shut down all crossings due to Hamas's rejection of US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff's plan to extend ceasefire negotiations in the enclave.