Trump Issues 'last Warning' To Hamas To Release All Remaining Hostages Held In Gaza

President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a "last warning" to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the militant group.

Trump, in a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, added that he was 'sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job."

"Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you," Trump said. "Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!"

The pointed language from Trump came after the White House said Wednesday that U.S. officials have engaged in "ongoing talks and discussions" with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held U.S. policy of not directly engaging in the militant group.

Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha come as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. It's the first known direct engagement between the U.S. and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.