President Donald Trump declared his patience is “running out” with the slow release of hostages, blasting Hamas for the shocking condition of those released over the weekend
The president told reporters while on Air Force One en route to the Super Bowl that the three men released amid a ceasefire deal with Israel looked like Holocaust survivors. Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, returned to Israel “dangerously emaciated,” according to a report from The Times of Israel.
“They were said to have gone for days without food, and then only given a single rotten pita bread to share. Their captors would reportedly cover the hostages’ mouths in a thick cloth that made it difficult for them to breathe. Before their public handover ceremony, the hostages were paraded in front of cheering terrorists,” the outlet reported.
“Or Levy’s brother Tal told the Haaretz newspaper that the hostages, who were entirely cut off from media, preserved their sanity by counting the days since their abduction on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza,” the Times continued.
Trump ripped the Hamas captors for the condition of the men who “looked emaciated” and like Holocaust survivors.
“They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated. It looked like many years ago, the Holocaust survivors. I don’t know how much longer we can take that when I watch that,” he said.
“I know we have a deal,” Trump said, “where we’re supposed to get [the hostages] they dribble in and keep dribbling in, but they are in really bad shape. They have been treated brutally horribly, even the ones that came out earlier, they were in a little bit better shape but mentally they were treated so badly.”
Trump: I saw the abductees coming out, they look like holocaust survivors, I know there is an agreement that Hamas releases a little every week, but I don’t know how long I will continue to endure this, my patience is running out. pic.twitter.com/YfSRG3xNXc
— Eli Afriat (@EliAfriatISR) February 9, 2025
“You know, at some point,” the president added, “we’re going to lose our patience.”
Trump also doubled down on his plans for Gaza, after a surprise announcement earlier this month when he spoke of the U.S. taking over the area.
“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,” he said. “But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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