As negotiations over the Hamas hostage deal near completion, President-elect Donald Trump said Monday on Newsmax that failure to secure the hostages’ release could unleash “a lot of trouble.”
During an appearance on “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Trump said the negotiation is close to getting done. The deal aims to secure the release of hostages held under harrowing conditions.
“We’re very close to getting it done, and they have to get it done. If they don’t get it done and there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble like they have never seen before and they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake in getting it finished, and maybe by the end of the week but it has to take place,” Trump said.
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The deal comes after more than 600 days of captivity for the hostages.
“It’s a horrible thing. A lot of people have died and the numbers are, you know, part of the deal is we’re going to bring bodies out,” Trump said. “But they lived in tunnels that were three feet high in some cases, some cases less than that with closed ends. Can you imagine that, and they’ve been like this so long? This would have never happened if I was president, never would have happened,” Trump said.
Trump, who assumes office next week, also discussed past financial support to Iran and the implications for the war in Ukraine. He said he believes that the current U.S. foreign policy has strengthened Iran financially and strategically.
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“Iran didn’t have the money to give them. Iran was broke essentially and you know they have a lot of money, although they have been hurt over the last few months certainly,” Trump said.
Mediators presented a final draft of a deal to Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the Gaza war, according to an official familiar with the negotiations, Reuters reported. This development followed a late-night “breakthrough” in discussions attended by representatives of both Trump and the outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.