U.S. President Donald Trump called on Hamas to immediately release the 20 Israeli hostages, stating that Israel’s war on Gaza would end if the group complied.

He wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday, “Tell Hamas to immediately return all 20 hostages (not 2 or 5 or 7), and everything will change quickly,” adding, “The war will end.”

This comes as Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi announced on Wednesday the beginning of the second phase of the “Gideon’s Chariots” operation in the Gaza Strip, affirming that the goal is to achieve the war’s objectives by intensifying combat and deepening military maneuvers.

Halevi stated, “Recovering our captives is a moral and national duty. We will continue striking Hamas’s centers of gravity until its defeat.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the “Gideon’s Chariots 2” plan on August 21, aiming to fully occupy Gaza City. This followed more than two weeks of expanded military operations in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, which extended into the adjacent Al-Sabra neighborhood in southern Gaza City.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined the latest ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal presented by mediators, according to Qatari officials on Tuesday. Hamas, however, announced its acceptance of the offer.

The war in Gaza erupted following a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, based on official Israeli data.

Of the 251 individuals taken hostage and transferred to Gaza during the attack, 47 remain in the Strip, with about 20 still alive, according to the Israeli military.

Since then, Israel has responded with a devastating war that has killed more than 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health.