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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he did not know if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be able to bring about a release of hostages. “I don’t know. We’re going to find out pretty soon. We’re going to know pretty soon. They’re not in good shape,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One. “Some of them are in better shape than others. A little bit depends on the place where they are, but we’ll be working with them to get them,” he said.
Earlier, Trump said the situation in Gaza was grave. "We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving," Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
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"I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and we're going to see. We have to help also out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving on Gaza, so we have to look at both sides," the American president said.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff attempted to bring an agreement for a six-week-long ceasefire and hostage release deal, but both Israel and Hamas were entrenched in their views. "Witkoff has given up," Israeli officials said. "He is letting Israel make its own decisions."
One official said that there was no progress in the talks in Qatar, where an Israeli delegation was waiting to hear whether they would be called back to Israel. There is no optimism," the official said. "It appears that Israel is heading toward an expanded offensive in Gaza within days," he said, adding that the IDF is completing its preparations and has at least until the Sunday cabinet meeting before a decision is made.
Israel increased its attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza in preparation for ground forces to advance. Palestinian media outlets reported over 100 people killed in IDF strikes mostly on northern Gaza overnight Thursday and into Friday.