Donald Trump considering to visit Middle East, but 'not immediately'

We're thinking about going to the Middle East, but not yet, as hostages are coming back right now, Trump said during a joint news conference at the White House

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is considering going to the Middle East, but not immediately amid the return of hostages, as he reiterated that the attack on Israel by the Hamas on October 7, 2023, should not have happened.

"We're thinking about going to the Middle East. But not yet, as hostages are coming back right now. Some of them have been very, very damaged. You look at the young lady with her hand practically blown off -- you know how that happened, right? Did you know how that happened," Trump said during a joint news conference at the White House with Oracle CTO Larry Ellison, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Open AI CEO Sam Altman.

"When you find out, you're not going to be too happy because it was terrible. But the hostages are starting to come back," Trump said, as he took credit for the return of the hostages.

"If I weren't here, they would have never come back. They would have all died. If this were done a year earlier, if (Joe) Biden would have done this deal a year-and-a-half, two years ago... Frankly, it should have never happened, October 7 should have never happened," he said.

"You go back just six months, many of these young people were living -- you know, young people don't die like that. But now they're dying. And you wonder why they're dying; they're being killed. Biden couldn't get it done. It was only after the imposition that I put on as a deadline that got it done," he added.

Describing the situation in the Middle East as bad, Trump said, "It is a very sad situation. It should have never happened.