The Hamas terror group on Thursday dismissed President Donald Trump’s latest threat and refused to release more Israeli hostages without a permanent ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said the “best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages” is through negotiations on a second phase of the ceasefire agreement. The first phase of the ceasefire, which lasted 42 days, ended on Saturday. A second phase was supposed to begin in early February, though only limited preparatory talks have been held so far. Hamas’ response comes after Trump met with eight former hostages in Washington and issued a “last warning” to Hamas on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. According to Trump, Hamas must release all hostages now and immediately return the dead bodies of those they killed, warning, “If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/after-trump-threat-hamas-refuses-release-more-hostages-without-phase-2-ceasefire-deal