Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and resume its war against Hamas if the militant group does not go ahead with the next scheduled release of hostages on Saturday. Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, including by not allowing a surge of tents and shelters into the devastated territory. At he same time, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that “all hell” would break out if the militant group does not release the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Saturday. At the White House, Trump is hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II as he escalates pressure on the key U.S. ally to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East. Palestinians and the international community have seethed over Trump’s recent comments that any Palestinians potentially expelled from Gaza would not have a right to return.
The first phase of the ceasefire is not complete yet
During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas has committed to freeing a total of 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for Israel releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The sides have carried out five swaps since Jan. 19, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners so far. The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and resume its war against Hamas if the militant group does not go ahead with the next scheduled release of hostages on Saturday. Hamas repeated its warning Tuesday that it planned to delay the release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of breaking the terms of the ceasefire, including by not allowing enough tents and other aid into Gaza. and Donald Trump has emboldened Israel to call for the release of even more remaining hostages on Saturday. Still, it wasn’t immediately clear whether Netanyahu’s threat referred to the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza or just the three scheduled for release on Saturday.
Israel orders more troops to Gaza as the ceasefire with Hamas falters
In Jerusalem, an Israeli official said Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered the military to increase troops in and around the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it would call off a scheduled hostage release this weekend. The official said Netanyahu also ordered officials “to prepare for every scenario if Hamas doesn’t release our hostages this Saturday.” The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting, was not clear if Netanyahu’s order referred to all hostages, or the three scheduled for release on Saturday.
The preparation plans come after Netanyahu met with his Security Cabinet for four hours on Tuesday to discuss Hamas’ threat, which has put the fragile ceasefire agreement in danger. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire, including by not allowing enough of the agreed-upon tents and shelters into the Gaza Strip.
Trump to host the king of Jordan as he escalates pressure on his Gaza resettlement plan
In Washington, President Donald Trump will host Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday as he escalates pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East. Trump has proposed the U.S. take control of Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” with Palestinians in the war-torn territory pushed into neighboring nations with no right of return. He suggested on Monday that, if necessary, he would withhold U.S. funding from Jordan and Egypt, longtime U.S. allies and among the top recipients of its foreign aid, as a means of persuading them to accept additional Palestinians from Gaza.
But Jordan has flatly rejected Trump’s plan to relocate civilians from Gaza.
In addition to concerns about jeopardizing the long-held goals of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately raised security concerns about welcoming large numbers of additional refugees into their countries even temporarily.
Hamas brushes off Trump's threats about releasing hostages
Hamas has brushed off President Donald Trump’s threat that “all hell” will break out if it does not release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Saturday. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that the dozens of hostages would only be returned if all parties remain committed to a ceasefire deal reached last month. “Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties. This is the only way to bring back prisoners,” he said. “The language of threats has no value; it only complicates matters,” he added. Hamas has said to delay the next release of three Israeli hostages planned for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, including by not allowing a surge of tents and shelters into the devastated territory.
UN chief says renewed fighting would lead to an ‘immense tragedy’
In the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres has called for the extension of a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying a resumption of hostilities “would lead to an immense tragedy.” He called on the Hamas militant group to continue freeing Israeli hostages after it threatened to delay the next release. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement. “Both sides must fully abide by their commitments,” Guterres said in a statement Tuesday. He also urged the sides to hold serious negotiations over the next phase of the agreement, in which Hamas is to release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in its 2023 attack in exchange for an end to the war.
Egyptian envoy says Arab countries reject Trump's Gaza plan
CAIRO — Egypt’s top diplomat has told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Arab countries reject President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian population. That’s according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry after Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty’s meeting late Monday with Rubio in Washington. The statement said Abdelatty stressed the importance of accelerating Gaza’s reconstruction while Palestinians remain there. Abdelatty also stressed the importance of “finding a political horizon leading to a final settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict” in a way that ensures “the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 border with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement said. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. There is wide international support for a two-state solution to the decadeslong conflict along those lines.
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