Facing IDF pressure in Gaza City, Hamas drafted a desperate letter to President Trump offering partial hostage release in exchange for a ceasefire.
The Hamas terrorist organization has reportedly drafted a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, offering the release of half of the 48 remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, according to Fox News.
A senior Trump administration official confirmed that the unsigned letter is currently being held by Qatar, which serves as Hamas’ main broker. Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported similar accounts but noted that Hamas leaders have yet to formally sign the document—raising doubts about whether the terror group intends to follow through.
The timing of the letter is telling: it comes just as the IDF intensifies its offensive in Gaza City, widely regarded as Hamas’ last remaining stronghold. Of the 48 hostages still believed to be in Gaza, U.S. intelligence and Israeli assessments suggest only about 20 are still alive—most hidden deep inside Hamas’ terror tunnels.
President Trump, speaking over the weekend, demanded Hamas immediately release all the hostages, not half. He delivered a grim update to reporters, confirming that at least 32 hostages have been killed in captivity—possibly as many as 38, many of them young, with their bodies still withheld from grieving families.
“It’s terrible. It’s sad. I spoke with parents who just want the bodies of their precious children,” Trump said. “We have nearly 40 deceased hostages. Many of them died in tunnels.”
He added that while about 20 hostages may still be alive, freeing the last captives is always the most difficult stage of such conflicts. “Maybe they will be freed. In war, strange things happen—things you never thought would occur,” Trump remarked, while emphasizing that he had already secured the release of most of the hostages earlier.
The Hamas offer is seen in Israel as a sign of desperation: under relentless IDF pressure, Hamas is attempting to leverage hostages for survival, even as the terror group faces collapse inside Gaza.
