Ultimatum expiring at noon on Saturday appears to endorse earlier threat by Donald Trump. Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not release all of its hostages by noon on Saturday, endorsing a threat by Donald Trump that would shatter the three-week-old ceasefire between the two sides. Netanyahu’s ultimatum was delivered during a video address posted to social media account on Tuesday. “The military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” he said.
Late on Monday, Trump told reporters: “If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12pm, I would say cancel the ceasefire. Let all hell break loose.”. Trump hosted King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House on Tuesday for a tense meeting, where the two were to discuss Trump’s plan to “take over” Gaza and expel the region’s more than two million Palestinians. Asked outside the West Wing whether Saturday remained his deadline for Hamas, Trump replied: “Yes.”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas derided Trump’s latest comments on the war in Gaza and reiterated its commitment to a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, said: “Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the [Israeli] prisoners. The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters.”.
An Israeli security cabinet meeting to discuss negotiations on the second phase of the deal was brought forward on Tuesday and lasted more than four hours. The far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who voted against the ceasefire deal and has threatened to bring down Netanyahu’s coalition if the country does not return to fighting when the first stage of the ceasefire ends, appeared to support Trump’s comments. He wrote on X on Tuesday: “Everyone now”.
