Trump demands release of 20 hostages, 38 bodies

US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with France's President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 23, 2025. [AFP] President Donald Trump has maintained Hamas militia group must release all the 20 hostages for peace to prevail over Gaza. Speaking during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Trump said the group must also release all the 38 bodies of the hostages that have died under their watch. Trumps remarks come as over 150 UN Member states voted in a declaration that recognizes Palestine as a Sovereign State. Dubbed 'New York Declaration', the resolution "lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-state solution and bring to an end the war. This, according to the UN, involves an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State that is both viable and sovereign. The two-state Solution outlines political, humanitarian, and security steps to be taken on a time-bound and irreversible basis. The roadmap further calls for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, normalisation between Israel and the Arab countries, as well as collective security guarantees. READ: New York Declaration: What next for Israel as world leaders intensify two-state push But Trump in his statement told the assembly that such a move would be a reward for Hamas's horrible atrocities, including October 7, even while they refuse to release the hostages or accept a ceasefire. He said although he has actively been engaged in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas is to blame for repeatedly rejecting reasonable offers to make peace. "We can't forget October 7, can we? Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities," said Trump. He said instead of the UN giving in to Hamas's ransom demands, any country that wants peace should be united with one message of calling on the group to release the hostages. "Instead of giving to Hamas so much because they have taken so much, they must release all the hostages now," he said. "We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately, we have to stop it, we have to get it done. We have to negotiate immediately to have peace. We got to get the hostages back," Trump added. Palestinians inspect the destruction after Israeli airstrike hit Bank of Palestine in Gaza Strip on September 24, 2025. [AFP] He went on to say, "We want all 20 back. We don't want two and four. As you know, I got most of them back. We were involved in all of them. But I always said the last 20 are going to be the hardest, and that's exactly what happened. We have to get them back now." Trump said the parents of the dead hostages had made a personal appeal to him that he intervenes so that they can receive their loved ones. ALSO READ: Ruto banking on China's backing to test Trump and rewrite the rules at UNGA "And we want the actually 38 dead bodies back too. Those parents came to me and they want them back very quickly and very badly, as though they were alive. They want them," he said. The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought since October 7, 2023, as part of the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian and Gaza-Israel conflicts dating back to the 20th century. On the fateful day of October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launched a surprise attack on Israel, in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 815 civilians, were killed, and 251 taken hostage with the stated goal of forcing Israel to release Palestinian prisoners. Since the start of the Israeli offensive that followed, over 65,382 people have been killed and more than 166,985 others injured. Trump said unfortunately many wrong things especially war is happening at a much bigger scale under the watch of the United Nations. "Whether the UN can manage to play a productive role, I have come here today to offer the hand of American leadership and friendship to any nation in this assembly that is willing to join us in forging a safer, more prosperous world that we'll be much happier with. A dramatically better future is within our reach," Trump remarked. He said all the UN member states must reject the failed approaches of the past and work together to confront some of the greatest threats in history. "There is no more serious danger to our planet today than the most powerful and destructive weapons ever devised by man, of which the United States, as you know, has many," he said.

Trump demands release of 20 hostages, 38 bodies

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