Egypt Daily News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the ceasefire agreement in Gaza will end if Hamas does not return the hostages held in the Strip by noon next Saturday.
In a video statement, he added, “The army will return to intensive fighting until Hamas is ultimately defeated.” Netanyahu did not clarify whether his statement referred to all Israelis held in Gaza or a specific group of prisoners scheduled to be released on Saturday in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained by Israel, as part of the truce agreement.
For its part, the Israeli army announced an increase in the level of combat readiness in the southern direction, around Gaza, and deployed reinforcements there in case of “various scenarios.”
In the same context, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated on Tuesday his commitment to the deadline he set until Saturday for the release of all Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. In response to a journalist’s question during his meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House about whether the deadline still stands, Trump said, “Yes.”
Hamas today rejected Trump’s demand to release all hostages by noon on Saturday, stating that the language of threats complicates matters. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesperson, told the German news agency DPA that adhering to the terms of the agreement reached three weeks ago is the only way to ensure the handover of hostages to Israel. Abu Zuhri added that the language of threats is inappropriate and only complicates matters.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, the session of the Israeli mini-government, the “Cabinet,” regarding the Gaza agreement concluded after lasting four and a half hours.
Israeli sources mentioned that “Netanyahu wants to continue the first phase of the Gaza agreement under new terms… and also wants to change the nature of the second phase of the Gaza agreement.” An Israeli official stated that “Cabinet members supported Trump’s demand to release all hostages by Saturday… and also endorsed Trump’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza.”
This comes as Israeli Ministers Shlomo Karhi and Bezalel Smotrich today called for the “immediate” implementation of a plan to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Communications Minister Karhi posted a tweet on the platform “X,” urging the urgent execution of the plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, halt aid, and cut off electricity and water supplies.
On February 4, U.S. President Donald Trump, during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, revealed his country’s intention to take control of Gaza after displacing the Palestinians.
Since January 25, Trump has been promoting a plan to relocate Gazans to neighboring countries, such as Jordan and Egypt, which both countries have rejected. Other Arab nations, as well as regional and international organizations, have also opposed the plan.
The Israeli minister stated, “Hamas believes it can gamble with the lives of our prisoners, which is a grave mistake. We will not allow further games.” Karhi demanded “the use of excessive and brutal force against Hamas elements until the detainees are returned,” as he put it.
Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich expressed his support for Trump’s statements regarding the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Smotrich said, “President Trump has made it clear that Israel can set a clear deadline for the return of all detainees without exception by next Saturday, or the gates of hell will open,” calling for what he described as “actually opening the gates of hell” in the Gaza Strip.
The minister called for cutting off electricity, water, and halting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, claiming that “Israel has the full support of President Trump to do so.” Smotrich’s remarks came during a speech he delivered on Tuesday at the tenth annual conference of the Institute for Strategic and Haredi Policies.
During the conference, he added, “The way to ensure the safety of the detainees is to inform Hamas that if any harm comes to a hostage, we will declare Israeli sovereignty over 5% of the Gaza Strip on the same day, and so on, 5% after another, we have full support for this.”
On January 19, a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel began. The agreement includes three phases, each lasting 42 days, with negotiations during the first phase to initiate the second and third phases, mediated by Egypt and Qatar with U.S. support.
