Following a meeting of his security cabinet, Netanyahu declared, “Last night, I ordered the [Israeli army] to gather forces inside and around the Gaza Strip in light of Hamas’ announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages.””At this moment, this operation is being conducted. In a statement, he said, “It will be finished very soon.”
Shortly after Netanyahu’s comments, Hamas issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and holding Israel accountable for any “complications or delays.”
.Hamas has begun releasing some hostages gradually under the first phase of a ceasefire reached last month, but said on Monday it would not free any more until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the terms with several deadly shootings as well as hold-ups of some aid deliveries in Gaza.US President Donald Trump, a close ally of Israel, said in response that Hamas should release all the hostages held by the Palestinian militant group by midday on Saturday or he would propose cancelling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which took effect on January 19.Netanyahu declared, “The ceasefire will end and the [Israeli army] will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon.”It was unclear at first whether he was referring to all of the hostages still detained in the Palestinian enclave or just those scheduled to be released on Saturday.After Trump threatened to “let hell break out” if the Israeli hostages were not released, a Hamas official dismissed the “language of threats” and stated on Tuesday that the hostages could only be returned home if the ceasefire was upheld.The only way to return the (Israeli) prisoners is for Trump to keep in mind that there is an agreement that both sides must abide by. Threatening language is useless and only makes things more complicated, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.Israel claims to have fired on those who disobey warnings not to approach Israeli troop positions and denies withholding aid supplies.Netanyahu had earlier promised that Israel would see to it that all of its hostages were brought back.After military confirmation that another Israeli had been killed in the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war in Gaza 16 months ago, he declared, “We will continue to take determined and ruthless action until we return all of our hostages – the living and the deceased.”Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official said the prime minister spent nearly four hours Tuesday meeting with the security cabinet, a select group of ministers.Since October 2023, Israel’s military offensive has devastated Gaza, one of the most densely populated regions in the world. The region is in dire need of billions of dollars in foreign aid and is lacking in food, water, and shelter.By attempting to impose his vision of Gaza, Trump has angered Palestinians and Arab leaders and overturned decades of US policy that supported a potential two-state solution in the region. In order to transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” he has stated that the United States should occupy the territory and expel its more than two million Palestinian citizens.According to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, it is a war crime to forcibly relocate a population that is under military occupation.Palestinians fear that the 1948 war that accompanied Israel’s creation will repeat what they refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee or be driven out. Israel disputes that they were evicted.Trump’s statement that he would be ready for “hell” to break out if all of the Israeli hostages were not freed by Saturday noon was criticized by Gazans who spoke to Reuters.”Even worse than what we currently have? Is hell worse than murder? Jomaa Abu Kosh, a Palestinian from Rafah in southern Gaza, stood next to destroyed houses and said, “The devastation, all the practices, and human crimes that have occurred in the Gaza Strip have not happened anywhere else in the world.”
