Trump says the US may lose patience with the ceasefire agreement.
The US president also said he remains committed to taking control of Gaza.
Reuters - President Trump said on Sunday (9) that he was losing patience with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas after seeing images of the Palestinian resistance movement freeing Israeli hostages over the weekend, whose appearance he compared to that of Holocaust survivors.
Trump's reaction to seeing images of the three hostages being released on Saturday brought new uncertainty about the fate of the deal before all 76 remaining hostages are freed, and came days after the president called for the Palestinians to withdraw from his territory and for the US to take control of it.
"I don't know how much longer we can put up with this... at some point, we're going to lose patience."
"I know we have an agreement... they come in and keep coming in... but they're in terrible condition," Trump said about the Israeli hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the sight of the frail hostages was shocking and would be addressed. In exchange for the three men, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday.
Trump also told reporters that he remains committed to having the U.S. buy and take possession of Gaza after the Palestinians leave or are removed from the enclave, a surprise announcement he made on February 4 during Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington. He said other countries could participate in the reconstruction of sections of Gaza.
"As for us rebuilding it, we can give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people can do it, through our auspices. But we are committed to owning it, taking it, and ensuring that Hamas does not back down."
