As President Trump greeted Argentine leader Javier Milei he was asked about the ceasefire in the Middle East right off the bat – and Trump had a three-word response.
“We’ll find out,” Trump answered when asked if he thought Hamas was holding up its end of the peace agreement.
This comes less than an hour after Trump took to Truth Social to talk about the Israeli hostages. “ALL TWENTY HOSTAGES ARE BACK AND FEELING AS GOOD AS CAN BE EXPECTED. A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!! President DJT” he wrote.
This weekend, Israel officially pulled back its troops to an agreed upon line and Hamas released the 20 living hostages from Gaza. Israel in turn released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, Hamas‘ failure to return all bodies of slain hostages has created a point of contention and resulted in Israel again limiting aid.
Israel was also accused of violating the ceasefire after a shooting broke out, resulting in the deaths of 5 Palestinians. The IDF responded that the suspects who were killed crossed the so-called Yellow Line, to which the military withdrew as part of the ceasefire.
“The IDF calls on Gaza residents to follow its instructions and not to approach the troops deployed in the area,” the military warned.
Despite the contention on both sides, mediators are urging Israel not to torpedo the deal.
The answer comes as Argentina’s libertarian leader heaped praise on Donald Trump before his inaugural White House meeting with the U.S. president on Tuesday.
The gushing statements are par for the course for Milei – whose sweeping government spending cuts and verbal assaults on “woke leftists” have earned him admirers among U.S. conservatives.
“Your commitment to life, freedom and peace has restored hope to the world,” Milei posted on social media Monday, praising the U.S. president for brokering a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, where a fragile truce continues following a catastrophic, two-year Israel-Hamas conflict.
“It is an honor to consider you not only an ally in the defense of those values, but also a dear friend and an example of leadership that inspires all those who believe in freedom,” he declared.
The Trump-Milei friendship has already delivered results for Argentina – most notably, securing a $20 billion financial rescue package.