Feb 12 \u2013 Israel\u2019s prime minister has warned Hamas it will end the ceasefire in Gaza and resume intense fighting if the Palestinian group \u201cdoes not return our hostages by Saturday noon\u201d.<\/p>\n
Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to amass inside and around Gaza in response to Hamas\u2019s announcement that it was postponing freeing more hostages until further notice.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu did not specify whether he was demanding the release of all 76 remaining hostages, or just the three due to be freed this Saturday \u2013 but a minister said he meant \u201ceveryone\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hamas has accused Israel of violating the three-week-old ceasefire deal, including by blocking vital humanitarian aid \u2013 a claim Israel has denied<\/p>\n
Following Netanyahu\u2019s statement, the group said it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and that Israel was \u201cresponsible for any complications or delays\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hamas\u2019s decision to delay this weekend\u2019s scheduled release prompted US President Donald Trump to propose that Israel cancel the agreement altogether and \u201clet hell break out\u201d unless \u201call of the hostages\u201d were returned by Saturday.<\/p>\n
Following a four-hour meeting of Israel\u2019s security cabinet on Tuesday, Netanyahu said in a video statement that he \u201cwelcomed President Trump\u2019s demand\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIn light of Hamas\u2019s announcement regarding its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, last night I instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to amass forces inside \u2013 and surrounding \u2013 the Gaza Strip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis action is being carried out at this hour and will be completed very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then issued an ultimatum that he said had the security cabinet\u2019s unanimous approval.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end the IDF will resume intense fighting until the final defeat of Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were conflicting messages from Israeli officials about whether Netanyahu meant Hamas should release all the remaining hostages or not.<\/p>\n
One source told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that it would be willing to continue the ceasefire if the next group of three hostages were freed as planned on Saturday.<\/p>\n
But later, transport minister and war cabinet member Miri Regev wrote on X: \u201cWe made a very clear decision: We adhere to US President Donald Trump\u2019s statement regarding the release of the hostages \u2013 on Saturday, everyone will be released!\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the IDF said it had raised the level of readiness of its Southern Command \u2013 which is responsible for operations in Gaza \u2013 and that it would be reinforced with additional troops, including reservists.<\/p>\n
Hamas also reiterated on Tuesday its rejection of Trump\u2019s controversial plan for the US to take over post-war Gaza and permanently relocate the two million Palestinians living there so that it could be rebuilt and turned into the \u201cRiviera of the Middle East\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hamas said Trump\u2019s remarks were \u201cracist and constitute a call for ethnic cleansing, aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause and denying our people\u2019s inalienable national rights\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Palestinian Authority and Arab states have also categorically rejected the plan, while the UN warned that any forced displacement would be prohibited under international law and \u201ctantamount to ethnic cleansing\u201d.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu has praised the president\u2019s \u201crevolutionary vision\u201d for Gaza.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Tuesday, senior Hamas official Basem Naim told the BBC that the door was open for US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators to intervene and get the ceasefire deal back on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t wish that this deal will fall apart,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are doing the maximum to avoid any obstacles, any challenges, and therefore we are ready to hand over prisoners next Saturday if the situation is rectified through the mediators.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accused Israel of \u201ccontinuous violations\u201d of the ceasefire deal, including delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to areas in northern Gaza by between 48 and 72 hours and obstructing deliveries of urgently needed food, medical and shelter supplies.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Feb 12 \u2013 Israel\u2019s prime minister has warned Hamas it will end the ceasefire in Gaza and resume intense fighting if the Palestinian group \u201cdoes not return our hostages by Saturday noon\u201d. Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to amass inside and around Gaza in response to Hamas\u2019s announcement that it was postponing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110273\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}