Benjamin Netanyahu had a long talk over the weekend with his “friend” Donald Trump about the hostages still being held by Hamas, the Israeli prime minister revealed in a video posted to social media on Sunday.
After noting the “changing face of the Middle East,” including the toppling of the Assad regime in Syria, Netanyahu said he discussed “all of this last night with my friend, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump” in a “very friendly, warm and important” conversation.
“We discussed the need to complete Israel’s victory, and we spoke at length about the efforts we are making to free our hostages,” Netanyahu added.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and abducted around 250 during targeted attacks on Israel, according to Israeli figures. More than 100 hostages have been freed, but officials fear that up to half of those still missing could be dead, according to Reuters.
Israel has responded by killing about 45,000 people in the Gaza Strip—according to local health officials—and destroying much of the enclave. The United Nations estimates that most of the people killed were women and children.
“We will continue to act relentlessly to return home all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” Netanyahu said, leaving out any mention of current President Joe Biden and the White House officials actively working to negotiate a ceasefire deal.
“The less we discuss this, the better,” Netanyahu added.
A Trump spokesperson declined to give Reuters any other details about the call.
White House officials reported a potential breakthrough in the stalled ceasefire talks last week after Hamas agreed to two of Israel’s key demands.
Its leaders said they would allow Israeli forces to remain in Gaza temporarily while the fighting stops, and they finally provided a list of hostages that would be released under a ceasefire pact, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Hamas has become increasingly isolated in recent weeks after Lebanon and Hezbollah negotiated a ceasefire deal, and militants toppled the Assad regime in Syria, the New York Times reported. White House officials think those realities made its leaders more willing to concede on points that were previously considered deal-breakers.
Trump, meanwhile has been laying the groundwork to take credit for any deal that might come before his term begins in January. In November, his future Middle East envoy met with Netanyahu and with Qatar’s prime minister, while Trump himself made vague threats on social media.
“If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity,” he wrote earlier this month on his social media platform Truth Social.
Israel understood the message to be directed at Hamas, which took the hostages captive, while Hamas claimed it referred to Netanyahu, who has “sabotaged” efforts to reach a deal, the BBC reported at the time.
