White House says Trump ‘fully supports’ Israeli actions in Gaza

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump “fully supports” this week’s resumption of IDF military activities in Gaza, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says after being asked whether Trump is working to restore the ceasefire in Gaza.

“The president made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages, there would be all hell to pay. Unfortunately, Hamas chose to play games in the media with lives,” Leavitt tells reporters outside the White House, apparently referring to the terror group’s Friday announcement that it had agreed to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander along with four other dual nationals.

The offer was based on what Hamas officials had discussed with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler earlier this month, but the group failed to give the Trump aide a final answer in those secret meetings, a senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel.

After those direct talks were leaked to the press by Israel, the Trump administration stopped proceeding with the direct channel, the Arab diplomat said.

Accordingly, when Hamas said Friday that it was prepared to release the American hostages, the Trump administration was no longer interested. Witkoff by then had already presented his bridge proposal to extend phase one of the deal and called the Hamas offer a “nonstarter” on Sunday.

“This situation is completely the fault of Hamas when they launched that brutal attack on Israel on October 7th. The president has made it very clear that he wants all of those hostages to come home,” Leavitt tells reporters.

Trump “fully supports Israel and the IDF and the actions that they have taken in recent days,” she adds.

The White House quickly came out in support of Israel’s renewed bombing campaign overnight Monday-Tuesday, but the president himself has yet to comment.

On Wednesday, the State Department called on Hamas to seize Witkoff’s bridge proposal while it still remains on the table.