
CAIRO (AP) — The Hamas militant group has brushed off President Donald Trump’s latest threat and reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas accused Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to back out of the ceasefire agreement they reached in January. The agreement calls for negotiations over a second phase in which the hostages would be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Negotiations on that phase were supposed to begin in early February. Only limited preparatory talks have been held so far.