ADDS MORE REMARKS FROM TRUMP; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE
By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump proposed the cancelation of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas if all the hostages in the Strip are not released by Saturday.
"As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 o'clock -- I think it's an appropriate time -- I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I'd say they ought to be returned by 12 o'clock on Saturday,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
"And if they're not returned -- all of them, not in drips and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two – by Saturday at 12 o'clock. And after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out," he added.
Trump later said: "Saturday at 12 o'clock, and after that, it's going to be a different ball game."
Asked whether he could rule out any US involvement after the Saturday deadline, he said: “We’ll see what happens.”
He also said he will consider cancelling aid to Jordan and Egypt if they do not accept Palestinians being relocated from Gaza.
"Yeah, maybe. Sure, why not? If they don’t, I would conceivably withhold aid, yes," he said.
Asked how he will convince Jordan’s king to take in more Palestinians, Trump said: "I do think he'll take, and I think other countries will take also. They have good hearts."