Hamas Suspends Further Hostage Releases As Trump Says No 'Right Of Return' Under His Plan

Hamas has announced Monday it is suspending the release of hostages planned for Saturday until further notice due to „Israeli violations” and amid international backlash at Trump’s proposed plan to „take over” Gaza which would block a Palestinian 'right of return’.

The last three emaciated-looking Israeli hostages were freed on Saturday in exchange for over 180 Palestinians released from Israeli jails. The Israeli captives have been held for over 490 days. Since the ceasefire took effect last month 21 people have freed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – 16 of them Israelis and five Thai citizens. Victims’ families in Israel are desperately hoping more will be freed according to plan.

Until now the truce was looking promising, and is on the brink of entering a second phase of the deal, given the Israeli military this weekend withdrew from from the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts Gaza in half, allowing tens of thousands of Gazans to return to the north and move more freely.

Via Associated Press

Hamas has announced the next round of release of captives is postponed „until further notice” while accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire deal. Israel has put its military on 'high alert’.

Several Palestinians have been shot by IDF forces in Gaza City, but Israel in turn has blamed Hamas for violating agreements, including parading hostages in front of propaganda posters before they are handed over to the Red Cross.

Hamas has also been fiercely condemning Trump’s plan which would see Gazan’s leave the strip en masse. He’s been pressuring Egypt and Jordan to take in over one million Palestinians. His latest statements have inflamed tensions further. According to Fox, CNN and other outlets on Monday, Trump has expressly said his plan would not support a right of return:

President Donald Trump said explicitly in an interview this weekend that Palestinians would not have a right to return to Gaza under his plan to take US ownership of the strip and rebuild it.

“No, they wouldn’t,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News when asked whether the Palestinians would have a right to return. “Because they will have much better housing. Much better – in other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”

Hamas has responded by saying the US President tackling the „Palestinian issue with the mentality of a real estate dealer” and this is „a recipe for failure.”

Many analysts have warned that this White House rhetoric could collapse an already fragile ceasefire deal, and this is precisely what appears to be happening now, also given PM Netanyahu has hailed Trump’s words as „creative” and „revolutionary”.

Trump and his top foreign policy officials haven’t been fully on the same page, it appears:

Afterward, some Trump aides sought to soften or clarify aspects of the plan. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump was proposing only a temporary relocation of Palestinians while Gaza was being rebuilt.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling in Latin America when Trump revealed his idea, suggested the resettlements from Gaza would be only on an interim basis.

“What he very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction — the rebuilding of homes and businesses and things of this nature, so that then people can move back in,” Rubio said last week.

Donald Trump, on Gaza: “…I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It will be a beautiful piece of land.”

Q: Will Palestinians have the right to return?

Trump: No, they wouldn’t. If they have to return now, it’d be years…it’s not habitable pic.twitter.com/qhu9E2aFNp

— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) February 10, 2025

But a stance of 'no right of return’ means that Palestinians would not be allowed back to their homes or communities. Already tens of thousands are returning, and it remains unlikely that Trump’s plan could be practically achievable.

The reality is that hardliners within Netanyahu’s government don’t want to see a truce deal stick, as they prefer a military solution. Trump’s words give them an incentive to 'cleanse’ Gaza of Palestinians, continuing the IDF air and ground operation.