President Donald Trump on Thursday took to Truth Social with a stern message about Hamas, the remaining hostages and the unfolding crisis in Gaza.
“The fastest way to end the humanitarian crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” the president posted.
Trump’s recent statement marks a slight change in his stance regarding the conflict and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He has lately suggested that Israel holds some responsibility, and he has recognized the severe hunger problem in Gaza, which is an uncommon divergence from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has presented a contrasting viewpoint.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a 60-day ceasefire could happen soon while in Washington, D.C. on July 9, 2025. (Image of Trump: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images, Image of Netanyahu: JACK GUEZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images, Image of Gaza: BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images,)
Bayefsky was not optimistic about the declaration, despite its apparent calls for peace and the end of Hamas rule.
“The New York Declaration is a no-holds-barred attack on the United States as well as Israel, intended to completely derail President Trump’s foreign policy and long-standing bipartisan commitment to a negotiated settlement,” she told Fox News Digital. “In this very long document that includes talk about Islamic claims, there is zero reference to a Jewish state, to Jews, or Jewish history – or to antisemitism, the driver of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the first place.”
“The Declaration says there will be a meeting in New York in September to get world leaders attending the opening of the General Assembly to sign on and give the president the proverbial middle finger,” Bayefsky added.
Israel Ambassador Danny Danon speaks to the members of the media before the United Nations Security Council meeting, following a ballistic missile attack on Israel, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Oct. 2, 2024. (REUTERS/Stephani Spindel)
Israel objected to the declaration, while the U.S. stayed away from the conference, calling it “unproductive and ill-timed.”
“No token recognition and no U.N. resolution will change the basic fact that there are those in the world who fight terrorists and extremist forces and then there are those who turn a blind eye to them or resort to appeasement,” Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement.
State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the conference was a “publicity stunt” that would “prolong the war, embolden Hamas and reward its obstruction and undermine real-world efforts to achieve peace.
