Photo by
Orly Wasserman/TPS-IL on 10 February, 2025
Israeli Hostage Families Divided Over Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas
Jerusalem, 11 February, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Hamas that all hostages be released by Saturday, noon, met with widespread, but not unanimous Israeli support.
“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” Trump said. He was responding to Hamas’s announcement that Saturday’s hostage release would be delayed “until further notice” over what the terror group called Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
Following Hamas’s announcement, Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to raise its level of alert to the highest level, saying it was a “complete violation” of the ceasefire’s terms. The Israel Defense Forces postponed leave for combat soldiers in the Southern Command and raised readiness levels after a situational assessment. Additional forces are being deployed to Gaza-area communities.
The Tikva Forum, which supports the families of hostages, said Trump “is giving the State of Israel an opportunity that will never come again.”
“The Israeli government must set a date today after which if all the hostages – both living and dead – do not return, there will be no more Gaza,” it said.
“Any sensible person could have foreseen the blackmail that Hamas is doing, when they are giving in to the blows and giving up all the levers of pressure, Hamas recognizes its position of strength and exploits it. What we saw yesterday is just a preview of what awaits us in the coming weeks, while our hostages are starving in the tunnels.” The Forum called on the government to cut off humanitarian aid, water and electricity to the Strip.
But other families of hostages briefly blocked a portion of the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do nothing to imperil the ceasefire agreement.
At an interchange outside Jerusalem, dozens of demonstrators lit flares and held up a sign saying “Abandoning the hostages is a war crime.”
They also called on Netanyahu to send a negotiating team with “a full mandate to negotiate the second phase, that will lead to the release of all the remaining hostages in one go.”
Also on Tuesday morning, the family of Shlomo Mansour, the oldest hostage in Gaza, was notified that the 86-year-old was murdered in captivity.
“With heavy hearts, we kibbutz members received the news this morning of the murder in Hamas captivity of our dear friend. This is one of the most difficult days in the history of our kibbutz,” Kibbutz Kissufim said in a statement.
“Shlomo was much more than a community member to us – he was a father, a grandfather, a true friend and a beating heart of kisses. His smile, modesty and human warmth were an inspiration to us all. Our hearts are broken that we were unable to bring him back to us alive. This loss is a wound that will not heal, but our community will support and surround the family with all its strength.”
The ongoing first phase of the ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over six weeks in exchange for up to 1,904 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how Israeli captives are alive. Hamas notified Israeli authorities in January that of the 33, eight are dead, but offered no evidence.
Since the first hostage release on Jan. 19, Hamas has freed 16 Israeli and five Thai captives in exchange for 583 imprisoned Palestinian terrorists.
The fate of the other 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations during the ceasefire’s second phase. Critics say the phased approach condemns these 65 hostages to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 70 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed to be dead.
