TRANSCRIPT
US President Donald Trump says Hamas will be obliterated if it fails to return all the bodies of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
In a social media post after meeting with former hostages in Washington, he's labelled the group as 'sick and twisted' and warns the group's leadership that they are on their last chance to leave Gaza.
But, as ever, it's a complex situation because Mr Trump's Special Envoy, Adam Boehler, has been given the authority to talk directly with Hamas and has done so in Doha in recent weeks as part of efforts to find a lasting solution to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
It's a reversal of a long-time US policy to not negotiate with groups it deems to be terrorist groups - and Hamas has been given just such a designation under US law since 1997.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt justifies the apparent contradiction, says Mr Trump is simply doing whatever he can to get the right outcome.
"Well, when it comes to the negotiations that you're referring to, first of all, the special envoy who's engaged in those negotiations does have the authority to talk to anyone. Israel was consulted on this matter. And look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is, is good faith effort to do what's right for the American people."
In the same social media post, Mr Trump also says a beautiful future awaits the people of Gaza, but not if they hold hostages.
That comes a day after a key US ally in the region, Saudi Arabia, reiterated that it would never support Mr Trump's plan to send Gazans to other countries, and then redevelop the enclave.
Whilst Israel may have been consulted on Mr Boehler's conversations with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they are ‘full steam ahead’ with wiping out that organisation.
"We are decisive to achieve the goals of the war in full: Eliminating Hamas' military and governmental capabilities, returning all our hostages, thwarting any future threat from Gaza to Israel and returning our residents in the conflict zones safely to their homes. In the face of Iran's terrorist proxies which, like Iran itself, have engraved our destruction on their banner, we are determined to achieve a decision and a victory."
Mr Netanyahu was speaking at the installation of Israeli's new military chief, Eyal Zamir.
Mr Zamir is replacing Herzi Halevi, who has quit the post because of his forces' failure to stop the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that started this war.
The human carnage unleashed by that day is being felt still.
There have been more than 48,000 Palestinian casualties of the Israeli response that Mr Halevi led, in addition to the casualties on the Israeli side.
One of them was Ohad Yalomi, a French-Israeli hostage whose body was released by Hamas last week as part of the ceasefire deal.
He's been buried in his community of Kibbutz Nir Oz, from where Hamas kidnapped him on the 7th of October.
People have lined the streets, holding Israeli flags as his coffin went past, in respect.
Speaking at his funeral, his widow, Batsheva Yahalomi, says her world - and the wider world - has taken an all-encompassing turn for the worse since October 7.
"We always felt safe and secure when you are with us. We never imagined that darkness would come in the form of hundreds of terrorists filled with hatred and that it would manage to put off your strong and precious light. And since October 7th, it seems the clouds of darkness are creeping in and covering every good corner."
Meanwhile, the UN's humanitarian office says Israel is refusing to let it pick up humanitarian supplies that came through the Kerem Shalom crossing prior to Israel halting aid deliveries.
After more than 16 months of war, the population of Gaza - around two million people - is entirely dependent on food being brought in from outside.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the already-perilous food security in Gaza is getting worse.
"Humanitarian partners warn that if the disruption to aid entry continues, at least 80 community kitchens may be forced to suspend their activities and no longer work. Meanwhile, we and our partners are still distributing food parcels and flour to households. These distributions may be reduced or suspended so that bakeries continue to receive the supplies required for them to keep operating and keep making bread. Food security partners are also distributing vegetable seeds and animal feed to support the restoration of local food production, but this, too, depends on a steady inflow of supplies."
Mr Dujarric says the problem extends to other non-food aid - and that women and girls in Gaza are particularly vulnerable as a result.
“For its part, our colleagues at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) underscore that the cutoff of aid will have far-reaching consequences for women and girls. Over the past 10 weeks, UNFPA and its partners have provided 170,000 women and girls with reproductive health and protection services, set up 16 temporary health facilities and supported thousands of pregnant women, along with providing vital supplies to nearly 4,500 mothers."
