Israel PM threatens to end Gaza ceasefire if captives not released by Saturday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday threatened to end the Gaza ceasefire deal if Hamas failed to release captives by Saturday noon.

“If Hamas does not return our hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will be terminated, and the Israeli army will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” Netanyahu said in a video statement after a four-hour security cabinet meeting.

The Israeli premier said that he instructed the army “to mobilise forces inside and around the Gaza Strip.”

“We all welcomed [US] President Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by noon on Saturday, as well as his revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” he added, in reference to the president’s call to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza.

The threat came one day after Hamas said that it would delay the next hostage release in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, which include the shooting of civilians and denying access to relief materials, including tents and caravans for displaced civilians in Gaza.

Following Netanyahu’s threat, the Israeli occupation army said that it will significantly reinforce its forces, including the call-up of reserve troops.

For his part, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, the former national security minister, dismissed the Israeli government’s position as “unfortunate”.

“Trump has given a clear green light to rain fire and hell on Gaza if the hostages are not released, but our government chooses to continue on its irresponsible path,” he said on X.

Extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also called for opening “the gates of hell” on Hamas.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I urge you – based on President Trump’s clear and moral statement – to send Hamas an unequivocal message: Either all the hostages are released by Saturday, or the gates of hell will open upon them,” he said in a statement.

Trump has repeatedly called for taking over Gaza and ethnically cleansing Palestinians to neighbouring countries, including Egypt and Jordan, an idea widely rejected by Palestinian and Arab leaders.

His proposal came amid the ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement that took hold in Gaza on 19 January, pausing Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.

Sixteen Israelis and five Thai workers have so far been released by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinians who were being held in Israeli jails under the first phase of the agreement.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on the enclave.

READ: Israel forces commit 265 violations of Gaza ceasefire: gov’t office