Trump is uncertain if Hamas will release hostages but urges Israel to take a strong stance.

On February 14, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he is uncertain whether HAMAS will release hostages by the "deadline" of noon on Saturday, February 15. He emphasized that Israel must take a firm stance.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing CNN.

"I don't know what will happen tomorrow (February 15) at 12 o'clock. If it were up to me, I would take a very tough position. I can't tell you what Israel will do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

He added that he "would take a different position, but it depends on the situation," and continued his remarks.

"Listen, it depends on what Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) does. It depends on what Israel plans to do. Now I understand that they have completely changed, HAMAS has completely changed. They want to release the hostages again," Trump said.

What Preceded This

Recall that earlier this week, Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel may resume military actions in the Gaza Strip if HAMAS does not release the hostages on Saturday, February 15. However, on Thursday, the 13th, HAMAS announced that it would release the hostages as planned this weekend.

Prior to that, on February 10, the spokesman for the "Al-Qassam Brigades," Hudayfa Kahlut, accused Israel of not adhering to the ceasefire agreement for the past three weeks. HAMAS called for "compensation" from the Israeli authorities. If this does not happen, the militants stated that they would not release the hostages on February 15. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that such threats from the militants constitute a violation of the truce.