Trump: ‘We’re in very deep’ talks with Hamas, some hostages may have ‘recently died’

US President Donald Trump said Friday that the US is involved in “very deep negotiations” with Hamas to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza, but added that some of the 20 captives believed to still be alive may have “recently died.”

“We’re in very deep negotiations with Hamas. We said, ‘let ’em all out, right now, let ’em all out, and much better things will happen’” Trump said after being asked by a reporter in the Oval Office about the status of the mediated hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

He gave no details of the talks, but reports said US envoy Steve Witkoff met in Paris with Qatari officials on Thursday to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

Trump added that if Hamas doesn’t return the captives from Gaza “it’s going to be a tough situation, it’s going to be nasty… Israel’s choice, but that’s my opinion,” apparently referring to Israel’s plans to conquer Gaza City.

Referring to parents of the slain hostages, who Trump described as “young beautiful dead people,” he said they “want them every bit as much — almost more — than as if their son or daughter were alive. But you have many dead people that are coming out as part of the deal.”

Of the at least 20 hostages believed to be alive, Trump said that “there could be some that recently died, is what I’m hearing. I hope that’s wrong.”

Trump’s comments on the status of the living hostages followed up on similar comments he made last month, when he caused distress among hostage families by suggesting that fewer than 20 hostages remained alive. According to official Israeli tallies, 48 hostages remain in captivity, 26 of whom have been declared dead. Authorities have expressed “grave concern” about the lives of two others.

‼️‼️ President Trump says the US administration is in deep negotiations with Hamas calling them to release all hostages…

He also revealed that Jared Kushner is involved in the negotiations . pic.twitter.com/xzO9VpWVC4

— Hiba Nasr (@HibaNasr) September 5, 2025

Gal Hirsch, the government’s point man on the hostages, said at the time that Israel was not aware of any change to the number of living hostages, despite Trump’s claims. Israel has not yet commented on Trump’s latest statement.

Trump also reiterated the point he made in a Truth Social post Thursday, in which he called on Hamas to release the remaining living hostages immediately, indicating that the US could accept the terror group’s survival if it does so.

“I was the one who, myself and my people, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner was great on this — but they got a lot of people out,” Trump continued, suggesting his son-in-law, who was a senior White House adviser during his first term, was involved in the negotiations.

“I always said when you get down to the final 10 or 20 you’re not going to get them out unless you’re going to do a lot. And doing a lot means capitulation, that’s no good either. It’s a very tough situation,” he added.

He also said that “people forget October 7,” referencing the 2023 Hamas-led attacks that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage to Gaza, adding that “you have to put that into the equation very strongly.”

Trump also commented on the “big demonstrations” in Israel backing a hostage deal and calling for an end to the war in Gaza, saying they “put Israel in a tough position” by making it harder to “prosecute a war.”

This argument somewhat echoed ones made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the hostage family protesters, claiming that they play into the hands of Hamas by placing public pressure on the government rather than on Hamas. The families have countered that this is partially because they’ve lost faith in the government and don’t believe it is acting to save their loved ones, but rather to remain in power by extending the war.

‼️. Also Trump repeated his previous statements to Hamas : If they release the hostages good things will happen & otherwise it is going to be nasty . pic.twitter.com/80L0bzVYeJ

— Hiba Nasr (@HibaNasr) September 5, 2025

Trump also on Friday signed an executive order that would let the US designate nations as state sponsors of wrongful detention, using the threat of associated sanctions to deter Americans from being detained abroad or taken hostage.

The designation, similar to the state sponsors of terrorism designation that the US already imposes on some nations, will allow the State Department to target countries falling under the label with penalties such as economic restrictions, restrictions on visas for those involved and travel restrictions for Americans to those countries.

While the order did not specifically mention Israel or the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, several US citizens were taken captive by terror groups on October 7, and the Trump administration has made major efforts in returning American hostages, specifically the one-off agreement with Hamas reached in May to release the final living dual US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander unconditionally.

It is unclear if or how this order would apply to Hamas, which is already designated as a terror organization by the US and is not a state actor.

Responding to Trump’s comments, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum thanked him and Witkoff “for their unwavering determination, courage and compassion” in advancing the hostage-ceasefire talks.

“We offer special thanks to President Trump, who is making every effort to fulfill his promise to bring them home. We pray this will happen soon,” said the Forum in a statement, adding that Israelis have rallied en masse in recent weeks “with a clear call: end the war and bring all hostages home.”

The statement also welcomed Trump’s new executive order. “President Trump demonstrates that true leadership is measured by bold decisions. We are grateful for his recent executive order that sends a clear message to the world that hostage-taking is fundamentally wrong and will not be tolerated by the US administration,” said the statement.

“We are confident that President Trump and Ambassador Witkoff will faithfully represent Israel’s interests in these negotiations and bring all parties to a comprehensive agreement,” the Forum said, calling on the Israeli government to support Trump’s efforts.

Report: Halevi pushed for comprehensive deal last year

Former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi tried to convince Netanyahu to accept a deal that would have seen all the hostages freed ahead of the Rafah offensive last year, and the premier firmly rejected the proposal, the Kan public broadcaster reported on Friday.

Unnamed sources told the outlet that in the months before the IDF operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Halevi pushed for a ceasefire deal that would see all the hostages released in one phase.

According to the plan formulated by the military, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza would make it easier for the IDF to defeat the Hamas terror group.

The report said that when Halevi raised the proposal at a meeting of the high-level security cabinet, Netanyahu quickly rejected it as “defeat.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi (right) follow Israel’s strike in Yemen from the IAF operations room at the Kirya Headquarters in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

The report said that the dismissal of the plan was so firm that it wasn’t even suggested to the team negotiating a hostage-ceasefire deal, with Netanyahu’s government instead pushing for a partial deal that would have had hostages released in phases.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on the report, Kan added.

Last month, Hamas said it agreed to a partial deal, nearly identical to one agreed to by Israel weeks prior, that would see 10 living hostages released and the remains of 18 dead hostages returned, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners and some 1,000 Gazan detainees, and a 60-day ceasefire, during which negotiations would be held for the return of the remaining 20 hostages, of whom 10-12 are believed to be alive, and a permanent end to the war.

Despite this agreement, Israel has said it is no longer pursuing phased deals, and is now demanding a comprehensive agreement to return all the captives in one go and have Hamas surrender.

The Prime Minister’s Office has said said the war can end immediately if five conditions are met — the release of all hostages; the disarmament of Hamas; the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; Israeli security control in Gaza; and “the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that does not indoctrinate for terror, does not dispatch terror, and does not threaten Israel.”

Family members of hostages from Kibbutz Nir Oz who are held in Gaza, together with former hostages, hold a protest in Carmei Gat, marking 700 days of captivity and calling for the release of all hostages, September 5, 2025 (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)

On Wednesday, Palestinian-American political activist Bishara Bahbah, who has been mediating between the Trump administration and the Hamas terror group, said that the US presented mediators with a final ceasefire proposal for a comprehensive deal to end the war and free all the hostages held in Gaza.

Bahbah, who is not an official member of the US negotiating team but has been serving as a liaison between the Trump administration and Hamas, said that he reached out to the terror group with the latest terms, and that they responded positively to the proposal.

Hamas later released a statement saying it was willing “to enter into a comprehensive deal” to free the remaining hostages “in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners held by the occupation,” and said that it was ready to form “an independent national administration of technocrats” to run Gaza.

However, Israel dismissed Hamas’s announcement on Wednesday night as “spin,” as the Israel Defense Forces continued to advance its plan to conquer Gaza City.

This picture shows tents housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza City on September 1, 2025. Almost two years since Israel began its campaign in Gaza after Hamas militants’ October 7, 2023 attack, swathes of the Palestinian territory have been reduced to rubble and the vast majority of its population has been displaced at least once. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

IDF said to think Hamas may move captives from Gaza City

As Israel presses ahead with its plan to conquer Gaza City, the IDF assesses that Hamas may try to move the hostages held in Gaza City ahead of the intensified military operation there, Channel 13 reported on Friday night.

The report says that the military believes that the video of hostages Alon Ohel and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, released Friday by the terror group but apparently dated August 28, 2025, was filmed in an area of the Shati refugee camp, where the IDF is not present.

According to Channel 13, the military admits that they do not have a complete intelligence picture of the locations of all the hostages held in Gaza.

A girl rides through the broken windshield at the front of a vehicle transporting people and their belongings while evacuating southbound from Gaza City on September 2, 2025 (Eyad BABA / AFP)

Defense officials have warned that the takeover operation will put the hostages at greater danger, and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Friday urged the government to secure a deal for the captives’ release rather than go forward with the new campaign.

“It’s hard to predict how Hamas will behave with the hostages, if they’ll guard them or if they’ll use them as a shield, or, God forbid, kill some of them as manipulation,” a military source told the Ynet news outlet on Friday.

“It’s clear that the operation endangers them,” the source said.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir surveys Gaza City and reviews operational plans with IDF commanders as the military prepares to advance its offensive in the city, September 3, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has repeatedly warned in private forums that the operation will endanger the hostages, and has reportedly urged the government to accept the phased deal that Hamas said it had agreed to, shortly after Israel declared it would only accept a deal for all the hostages to be released at once.

Other top officials in the military and security establishment are reported to oppose the Gaza City takeover, which the IDF estimates could take months to complete.

Zamir is also said to have warned that the plan will precede another major operation to conquer the refugee camps in central Gaza, and then drag Israel into a full-fledged occupation of the Strip.