U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel should “finish the job” and “get rid” of Hamas after ceasefire and hostage negotiations collapsed in Doha, even as UN agencies report Palestinians are dying of starvation.
Trump, speaking to reporters after a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed “Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal… it got to a point where you have to finish the job.” He argued the group would not free remaining captives because they were a “bargaining chip,” adding Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down.”
Israel has pursued Hamas commanders across Gaza for nearly two years, killing most of the leadership tied to the Oct. 7 attacks and thousands of fighters. Hamas’ core demands in ceasefire talks — a full withdrawal and guarantees for Gaza’s reconstruction — have not shifted. It is unclear what further escalation would achieve that months of bombardment and raids have not.
Talks implode, “alternatives” floated
Israel withdrew its delegation from Doha after rejecting Hamas’ counterproposal to a Qatari‑Egyptian framework it had initially accepted. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas’ reply “shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire” and warned Washington would explore “alternative options” to free hostages. Netanyahu echoed that line, saying Israel and the U.S. would now seek other routes to “end Hamas’ terror rule.”
A senior Israeli official conceded no clear alternatives exist and admitted negotiators engineered a “crisis” to break the deadlock, while insisting a total collapse of talks isn’t in Israel’s interest.
Humanitarian freefall
Gaza’s Health Ministry said nine more people died of starvation-related conditions in the last 24 hours, bringing recent deaths from hunger and related complications to 122 — 83 of them children. Israel denies famine in Gaza, but a senior IDF officer acknowledged the situation is “very dire” and said Israel will allow Jordan and the UAE to resume food airdrops. (The U.S. joined similar drops under President Biden.)
The leaders of the UK, Germany and France held an “emergency” call Friday, urging “an immediate ceasefire” and demanding Israel lift restrictions on aid to let the UN and NGOs “act against starvation.” They insisted Israel uphold international humanitarian law.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators said the last two weeks yielded progress and framed the break as a pause for consultations, aiming to restart talks early next week. Israeli officials say no return trip to Doha is planned “at the moment.”
