Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will end if Hamas does not return more hostages held in the enclave by noon on Saturday.
“The military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” he said in a video statement.
The ceasefire has been called into question amid Hamas claims Israel violated key provisions, prompting it to call off the release of three more hostages on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump has emboldened Israel to call for the release of remaining hostages rather than the three scheduled to be freed in the next exchange.
אם חמאס לא יחזיר את חטופינו עד שבת בצהריים – הפסקת האש תיפסק, וצה”ל יחזור ללחימה עצימה עד להכרעה סופית של החמאס pic.twitter.com/4Cx30kHGvN— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) February 11, 2025
The comments came as Trump was set to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday at the White House.
Hamas on Monday said it would stop releasing Israeli hostages from Gaza until further notice, saying Israel was violating the agreement to end strikes that have pummelled the Gaza Strip.
Trump later proposed cancelling the ceasefire if Hamas does not release all remaining hostages it took on October 7, 2023, by the weekend.
Trump has said the United States should take over the Gaza Strip and move out its more than two million Palestinian residents so that the enclave can be turned into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
King Abdullah has said he rejects any moves to annex land and displace Palestinians.
Trump greeted King Abdullah and they stood together briefly before entering the White House for their meeting.
Sandwiched between Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel and the occupied West Bank, Jordan is already home to more than two million Palestinian refugees in its population of 11 million, their status and number long providing a source of anxiety for the country’s leadership.
with AP
https://thewest.com.au/news/conflict/israeli-pm-threatens-hamas-trump-meets-jordans-king-c-17690750
