The White House made a statement directed at Hamas. The statement said, "President Trump has made it clear that Hamas will either release the hostages immediately or pay a heavy price. US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the National Security Council's Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa Eric Trager presented a 'bridge' proposal in Doha on Wednesday evening that would extend the cease-fire beyond the months of Ramadan and Passover and allow time to negotiate a permanent cease-fire framework."
"Hamas is making a very bad bet"
The statement, which also touched on the details of the bridge proposal, said, "According to the proposal, Hamas would release living prisoners in exchange for prisoners in accordance with previous formulas, the first-phase ceasefire would be extended to allow for the resumption of significant humanitarian aid, and the US would work to find a lasting solution to this difficult conflict during the extended ceasefire period. Hamas was told in no uncertain terms through our Qatari and Egyptian partners that this 'bridge' must be implemented as soon as possible and that dual US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander must be released immediately."
The statement, which claimed that "Hamas responded to this proposal by making impracticable demands," said, "Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. But that is not the case. Hamas is aware of the deadline and should know that if this date passes, we will respond accordingly."
