Trump shocked with "emaciated" appearances of freed Israeli hostages “We’re going to lose our patience”

US President Donald Trump has expressed growing impatience with the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after seeing disturbing footage of Israeli hostages released by Hamas over the weekend. 

The hostages, who appeared gaunt and emaciated, were compared by Trump to Holocaust survivors, Caliber.Az reports, citing Western media.

"They look like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated," Trump said to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. "I don't know how much longer we can take that... at some point we're going to lose our patience."

Trump's comments came after three Israeli hostages—Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy—were freed on Saturday, looking in much worse condition than the previous 18 hostages released under the ceasefire. The hostages had been abducted during Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel. In exchange for their release, Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners on February 8.

"I know we have a deal... they dribble in and keep dribbling in... but they are in really bad shape," Trump added. "At some point, we're going to lose our patience."

The deal, which had been agreed upon on January 15, came after months of conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also commented on the condition of the freed hostages, calling it shocking and stating that the matter would be addressed.

Trump also reiterated his commitment to the controversial idea of having the US take ownership of Gaza. "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. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back."

It is crucial to recall that shortly after taking office on January 20, Trump floated the idea of ​​the United States taking control of Gaza and engaging in a massive reconstruction effort. He then repeated the same idea several times, speaking about transferring the residents of Gaza to other countries, most notably Egypt and Jordan, despite their repeated opposition.

This sparked immediate criticism from several Arab and Western countries, as well as the United Nations, especially since the displacement of Palestinians is in conflict with international laws and regulations.

By Khagan Isayev