United States President Donald Trump tells Axios that he does not believe that Hamas would agree to a hostage release and ceasefire deal under the current circumstances in Gaza, while declining to endorse or oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recently approved plan to take over Gaza City.
In a brief phone interview with the outlet today, “the president seemed to agree with [Netanyahu’s] argument that more military pressure on Hamas is required,” according to Axios.
Trump adds that Israel must decide what the next steps are in Gaza and whether to allow Hamas to remain there, while saying he believes that “they can’t stay there.”
The president describes his Sunday phone call with Netanyahu – during which the two leaders addressed the Gaza City operation — as a “good call.”
“I have one thing to say: remember October 7, remember October 7,” Trump tells the outlet, referring to Hamas’s 2023 massacre and echoing comments made by Netanyahu during his two press conferences last night that “there are those who have forgotten October 7.”
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 11, 2025
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