Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video today in which he announced that Hamas must release hostages on Saturday, Feb. 15, or Israel will continue the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated. He was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel, “If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated.” He did not specify how many hostages are to be released, however, though three are scheduled to be released in the next hostage/prisoner exchange under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu’s statement came after President Donald Trump, in what appears to have been a willful attempt at sabotaging the very ceasefire agreement his own intervention made possible in January, demanded the release of all hostages by noon on Saturday, or else. “If they’re not here, all hell is going to break out,” Trump said last night, reported AP. He added of the ceasefire, “Cancel it, and all bets are off.”
Trump said the final decision would be up to Israel, saying, “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.” But asked if the U.S. would join in a response to Hamas if hostages weren’t freed, Trump added, “Hamas will find out what I mean.”
Hamas dismissed Trump’s warning. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said today that the dozens of hostages would only be returned if all parties remain committed to a ceasefire deal reached last month. “Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties,” he said. “The language of threats has no value; it only complicates matters.”
On Feb. 10, Hamas had announced that it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what it called Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement. Hamas’ military wing spokesperson Abu Ubaida said Israeli violations included delaying Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, shelling and firing upon Palestinians, and stopping humanitarian aid from entering the strip, reported Reuters. Abu Ubaida said the next scheduled hostage release on Feb. 15 would be postponed until Israel complies with the ceasefire agreement, and “compensates for the past weeks.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hamas’s announcement violated the ceasefire deal, and that he had instructed the military to be at the highest level of readiness in Gaza and for domestic defense. An Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding security consultations. The security cabinet, which includes the ministers of defense, national security, and foreign affairs, will meet on Tuesday morning, Feb. 11, the official said.
Two Egyptian security sources told Reuters on Feb. 10 that mediators fear a breakdown of the ceasefire agreement.
