JERUSALEM (AP)— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to withdraw from the Gaza ceasefire on Tuesday, directing troops to prepare to resume fighting Hamas if the militant group does not carry out the next scheduled hostage release on Saturday.
Hamas announced Monday — and reiterated Tuesday — that it intended to postpone the release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of failing to meet the terms of the ceasefire, including refusing to allow an agreed-upon number of tents and other aid into Gaza.
On Saturday, as tensions rose, US President Donald Trump urged Israel to release even more remaining hostages.
After meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, Trump predicted that Hamas would not release all of the remaining hostages, as he had demanded.
“I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline, personally,” the president said of Hamas. “They want to play tough guy. “We will see how tough they are.”
Since the ceasefire went into effect, Hamas has released 21 hostages in five separate exchanges for more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. A second phase calls for the release of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the ceasefire. However, Trump’s statements about upcoming releases and post-war plans in Gaza have weakened its fragile structure.
It was unclear whether Netanyahu’s threat referred to the three hostages scheduled to be released on Saturday or all remaining hostages, which would violate the terms of the ceasefire. Netanyahu’s office stated that it “welcomed President Trump’s demand.”
As Trump spoke to reporters in Washington and reiterated his demands, an Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, stated that Israel was “sticking to Trump’s announcement regarding the release of the hostages.” Specifically, they will all be released on Saturday.
Netanyahu’s office also stated that he had ordered the military to mobilize troops in and around the Gaza Strip in preparation for potential scenarios.
Trump has stated that if all of the approximately 70 hostages are not released by Saturday, Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire. Hamas dismissed his threat on Tuesday, doubling down on its claim that Israel had violated the ceasefire and warning that it would only continue releasing hostages if all parties followed the ceasefire.
“Trump must remember that an agreement must be followed by both parties. “This is the only way to bring back prisoners,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Tuesday. “The language of threats has no value; it only complicates matters.”
Trump is hosting King Abdullah II in Washington as he increases pressure on Jordan to accept Gaza refugees, possibly permanently, as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.
“We won’t buy anything. “We’re going to have it,” Trump said of US control over Gaza, as Jordan’s king stood by.
Abdullah II was repeatedly questioned by reporters about Trump’s plans to remake the Middle East, but he made no substantive comments. He also declined to comment on the possibility of a large number of Gaza refugees being welcomed in Jordan, which already hosts millions of Palestinian refugees.
Palestinians and the international community have reacted angrily to Trump’s recent remarks that any Palestinians potentially expelled from Gaza would have no right to return.
During the first six weeks of the ceasefire, Hamas pledged to release 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, while Israel promised to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Since January 19, the sides have made five swaps.
If the more complicated second phase of the ceasefire is not agreed upon, the war could resume in early March. But if it does, Israel will face a very different battlefield. After forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee to southern Gaza in the early stages of the conflict, Israel has allowed many of those displaced people to return to what remains of their homes, posing a new challenge to its ability to move ground troops through the territory.
