President Donald Trump said Sunday he was losing patience with the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after seeing images of recently released Israeli hostages, comparing their condition to Holocaust survivors.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Trump said the appearance of the hostages raised concerns about the ongoing truce, which remains in place as 76 Israeli hostages are still held by Hamas.
“They look like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated,” Trump said. “I don’t know how much longer we can take that … at some point, we’re going to lose our patience.”
“I know we have a deal … they dribble in and keep dribbling in … but they are in really bad shape,” he added.
The comments came after Hamas released three Israeli hostages—Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, who were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri during Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, and Or Levy, who was taken from the Nova music festival that day. The men, who appeared frail and malnourished, were led onto a Hamas podium by gunmen before being handed over to Israeli authorities.
Their condition appeared worse than that of the 18 hostages previously released under the ceasefire agreement, which was brokered on January 15 amid months of conflict. Many Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel in exchange for hostages have also appeared visibly weakened.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the sight of the released hostages “shocking” and vowed to address the situation. On Saturday, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the three Israelis.
Trump also reiterated his proposal for the U.S. to take ownership of Gaza following the removal of Palestinians from the enclave, a plan he first announced on February 4 during talks with Netanyahu.
“As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices,” Trump said. “But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.”
