The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said Thursday that he understands that there are less than 24 Israeli hostages live in Gaza.
“59 hostages, 24 are alive, but my understanding now is that this number is even lower,” Trump said.
He made the comments in an event in honor of the National Prayer Day of the United States.
He also commented on the well-being of the Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, saying: “We do not know how it is … we believe to know. And hopefully it is positive.”
“Two months ago, we were quite sure that it seemed that it was going to leave, but they have hardened a bit and is terrible,” Trump added.
‘This attack would not have happened’ without Iranian money
“Edan, a New Jersey boy, moved to Israel in 2022 and was taken hostage at the brutal attack on the Jewish people on October 7,” Trump continued. “Now I tell you: this is an attack that would never have happened, because the money that went to Hamas came from Iran.”
During his speech, Trump said Iran was a broken country and also said that the United States had imposed more sanctions on Iran. “Any oil that someone takes from Iran, cannot do business in the United States.”
“Your son could have been with us today,” Trump said. “On October 7 it would not have happened. I can’t imagine your pain. But we are all with you. And we will do everything we can in a very short time. We have brought home to many hostages, but they want to do it as slowly as possible.”
