Israel PM says that Gaza’s ceasefire will end if Hamas does not make free hostages

The Israeli Prime Minister warned Hamas that he will put an end to the ceasefire in Gaza and take intense fights if the Palestinian group “does not return our hostages by Saturday noon (10:00 GMT)”.

Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to have fun inside and around Gaza in response to the announcement of Hamas that he postponed more hostages until further notice.

Netanyahu did not specify if he demanded the release of the remaining 76 hostages, or simply the three which should be released this Saturday.

Hamas replied by saying that it remained attached to the cease-fire agreement and that Israel was “responsible for any complications or delay”.

The group accused Israel of having violated the three-week cease-fire contract, in particular by blocking vital humanitarian aid-an assertion rejected by Israel.

It is not clear if Netanyahu has the intention of collapsing the ceasefire agreement if all the remaining hostages are not published by the deadline on Saturday.

It is understood that the Arab countries put pressure on Hamas to try to put the agreement on the right track.

Egypt said it was planning to present a “complete vision” for the reconstruction of Gaza which does not imply to move the population unlike a proposal advanced by American President Donald Trump.

Hamas’ decision to delay the scheduled release of this weekend had encouraged Trump to propose that Israel completely cancels the agreement and “let hell burst” unless “all hostages” were returned on Saturday.

After a four -hour meeting of the Israeli security firm on Tuesday, Netanyahu said in a video statement that he “welcomed President Trump’s request”.

He added: “In the light of the announcement of Hamas concerning his decision to violate the agreement and not to release our hostages, last night, I asked the FDI (Israeli defense forces) to raise the forces to forces The interior – and to be surrounded – the Gaza Strip.

“This action is underway at this time and will be completed very soon.”

He then published an ultimatum which, according to him, had the unanimous approval of the security firm.

“If Hamas does not return our hostages before Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end the FDI will resume intense fights to the final defeat of Hamas.”

There were contradictory messages from Israeli officials to find out if Netanyahu meant that Hamas should release all the hostages remaining or not.

One source told Israeli Journal Haaretz that he would be willing to continue the ceasefire if the next group of three hostages was released as expected on Saturday.

But later, the Minister of Transport and member of the War Cabinet, Miri Regev, wrote on X: “We have made a very clear decision: we join the declaration of US President Donald Trump concerning the release of the hostages – Saturday, Everyone will be released! “

The FDI said that it had increased the level of preparation for its southern command – which is responsible for operations in Gaza – and that it would be reinforced with additional troops, including reservists.

Hamas also reiterated its rejection of Trump’s controversial plan for the United States on Tuesday to resume Gaza d’Enumerre and definitively move the two million Palestinians who live there so that it can be rebuilt and transformed into “Riviera from the Middle East “.

The Palestinians fear a rehearsal of the Nakba, or “disaster”, when hundreds of thousands have fled or were driven from their house before and during the war which followed the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Many of these refugees met in Gaza, where they and their descendants represent three -quarters of the population. According to the UN, 900,000 other registered refugees live in occupied West Bank, while 3.4 million others live in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Hamas said Trump’s remarks were “racist and constitute an appeal to ethnic cleaning, aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause and denying the inalienable national rights of our people”.

The Palestinian authority and the Arab states have also categorically rejected the plan, while the UN warned that any forced displacement would be prohibited by international law and “is equivalent to ethnic cleaning”.

Netanyahu praised the president’s “revolutionary vision” for Gaza.

Earlier Tuesday, the senior Hamas, Naim, told the BBC that the door was open for us, the Qatari and Egyptian mediators to intervene and put the agreement on the ceasefire.

“We do not want this agreement to collapse,” he said. “We are doing their best to avoid obstacles, challenges, and we are ready to hand over prisoners next Saturday if the situation is rectified through mediators.”

He accused Israel of “continuous violations” of the ceasefire agreement, in particular by delaying the return of the Palestinians moved to regions of northern Gaza between 48 and 72 hours and obstructing food, medical and shelter deliveries necessary.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement is expected to last six weeks and see a total of 33 Israeli hostages exchanged against around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza.

Until now, 16 living hostages have been released since the ceasefire entered into force on January 19. Hamas has also given five Thai hostages apart from the terms of the agreement.

The other 17 Israeli hostages that should be released during the first phase are two children, a woman, five men over 50 and nine men under the age of 50. They are supposed to be delivered over the next three weeks. The two parties said that eight of these hostages died, but only one was appointed.

Negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement-which will see the 43 hostages still in liberated captivity, a withdrawal of full Israeli troops and a permanent ceasefire-began last week.

The agreement has also seen the Israeli forces withdraw from the densely populated areas of Gaza, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians return home in the North and hundreds of authorized aid trucks every day.

The Israeli army launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross -border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 48,210 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in the territory.

Most of the Gaza population has also been moved several times, almost 70% of buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed, health, water, sanitation and hygiene systems is are collapsed and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.