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Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/28/trump-starvation-gaza-israel-netanyahu
Trump: Iran Told Hamas to Toughen Its Positions in Gaza Ceasefire Talks
(Axios) Barak Ravid - After Gaza ceasefire talks broke down last week, President Trump said Monday, "Hamas don't want to give the hostages. I told Bibi that he will have to now maybe do it in a different way." Trump suggested on Friday that Israel might have to fight harder to eliminate Hamas, but said Monday that the situation in Gaza "is a mess" and that civilians "have to get food and safety right now." Trump said it had been very difficult to deal with Hamas and that the militant group uses the remaining 20 hostages it's holding as "protection." He said that Iran intervened in the last round of negotiations and gave Hamas "orders" to toughen its positions. Trump added that the situation could be resolved "very quickly" if not for the hostages. "You don't want to go riding roughshod over that area because that means those hostages would be killed." He said the "most sensible" option is to address the situation through "talk and negotiations" but that it might not be possible to resolve it "unless you are very ruthless." Regarding Iran, Trump said Sunday, "I think Iran has been very nasty with their words. They got the hell knocked out of them, and I don't think they know it. Iran was beaten up very badly, for good reason. We cannot have them have a nuclear weapon." Trump noted that Iran continues to insist it will enrich uranium on its soil under any deal. "Who would say that? How stupid can you be to say that? So we're not going to allow that to happen."