Egypt Daily News – A senior official in the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Sami Abu Zuhri, said on Tuesday that respecting the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel is the only way to secure the release of hostages.
This statement came in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning to the Palestinians on Monday that “the gates of hell will open wide” if all Israeli hostages are not released by next Saturday. Abu Zuhri added, “The language of threats holds no value and only complicates matters.”
Hamas had already begun releasing some hostages under a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that came into effect on January 19, but later postponed further releases until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the agreement by continuing to launch attacks on the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Trump said that Hamas must release all hostages held in Gaza by noon next Saturday, or he would propose canceling the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Abu Zuhri stated, “Trump must remember that there is an agreement, and it must be respected by both sides. This is the only way to secure the return of the prisoners.”
Israel denies withholding aid supplies and claims it fired on individuals who ignored warnings not to approach Israeli military positions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel remains determined to recover all hostages.
In a statement following the military’s confirmation of the death of another Israeli in a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the Gaza war, Netanyahu added, “We will continue to take decisive and harsh actions until we bring back all our hostages, both the living and the dead.”
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel must issue a final ultimatum to Hamas. At a press conference, he added, “Cut off their electricity, water, and halt humanitarian aid until the gates of hell open upon them.”
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu met with the Security Cabinet, a select group of ministers, for about four hours on Tuesday.
The official added that participants in the meeting, which included the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, and national security, endorsed the “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza” proposed by Trump.
Trump has angered Palestinians and Arab leaders, shifting U.S. policy that has supported a potential two-state solution in the region for decades by attempting to impose his vision on Gaza, which has been devastated by Israeli military attacks and suffers from shortages of food, water, shelter, and relies on external aid.
Trump proposed that the United States take control of Gaza, displace its population of over two million, and turn the area into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The forced displacement of populations under military occupation is a war crime under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Palestinians fear that Trump’s plan could lead to a new “Nakba,” the term they use to describe the mass displacement they experienced in 1948 with the establishment of Israel. Residents of Gaza criticized Trump for saying he would “let the gates of hell open wide” if all Israeli hostages are not released by noon on Saturday.
Palestinian Juma Abu Kosh from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, standing near destroyed homes, said, “A hell worse than what we have? A hell worse than the destruction we have? A hell worse than the killing? The destruction, all the practices, the crimes against humanity that have happened in Gaza have not happened anywhere else in the world.”
