The Gaza ceasefire will end if Hamas does not return Israeli hostages by midday on Saturday, Israel’s prime minister has said.
It comes after Hamas said it would postpone Saturday’s planned release, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire.
Trump latest: ‘We’re going to take Gaza’ under ‘US authority’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a return to “intense fighting” and said his cabinet were in unanimous agreement following a four-hour meeting.
He said they “all expressed outrage at the shocking situation of our three hostages who were released last Saturday”.
“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will be terminated, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” the Israeli leader said.
Mr Netanyahu said he had ordered forces to gather “inside and around the Gaza Strip” in readiness.
Donald Trump has said Hamas should release all remaining hostages, rather than just the three planned, and if they aren’t the deal should be cancelled.
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Will Gaza ceasefire be terminated?
Mr Netanyahu said the cabinet “welcomed” Mr Trump’s demand as well as his “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza”.
It’s currently unclear if the Israel leader is also calling for all the hostages to be released on Saturday.
Five swaps have taken place so far, with 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners released as part of an initial 42-day truce.
Hamas has said it remains committed to the ceasefire deal if Israel sticks to its terms and dismissed Mr Trump’s “language of threats”.
The most recent hostage release was last weekend, when three Israeli men were freed. However, there were concerns over how gaunt they looked after 16 months in captivity.
Five Thai citizens were also reunited with their families.
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‘Palestinians don’t want to be on Gaza Strip’
President Trump, who hosted Jordan’s king at the White House today, has reiterated his idea to move Palestinians out of Gaza and transform the Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
He’s said the two million-plus population would not be able to return but would have a better, safer future elsewhere.
The proposal has been widely dismissed by the West and Arab neighbours. Mr Trump has threatened to cut aid to Jordan if it refuses to take in Palestinians
Much of Gaza lies in ruins after Israel’s effort to destroy Hamas.
The war began after the October 2023 terror attack that killed around 1,200 people in Israel and saw about 250 kidnapped.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since then – many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants.