‘If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the cease-fire,’ he said.
The cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas should be canceled if Hamas does not release all remaining hostages from Gaza by Feb. 15, President Donald Trump said.
Talking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said it is up to Israel whether to keep the deal, which was reached last month shortly before Trump took office.
“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the cease-fire,” he said.
“Israel can override it, but from myself, Saturday at 12 o’clock. And if they’re not here, all hell is going to break out. ”
Trump said that he thinks “a lot of the hostages are dead.”
He noted on Feb. 9, “I don’t know how much longer we can take it,” referring to the emaciated condition of the three hostages released that day. “They look like Holocaust survivors.”
On Monday, Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement, which has led to the release so far of 21 hostages for more than 730 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas said that it will not release the next batch of hostages on Feb. 15 as planned. More than 70 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says 34 are believed to be dead.
“The resistance leadership has closely monitored the enemy’s violations and its failure to uphold the terms of the agreement,” a Hamas military wing spokesperson said. “This includes delays in allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, targeting them with airstrikes and gunfire across various areas of the Strip, and failing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid as agreed.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz responded by saying that it is Hamas that would be in “complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages.”
“I have instructed the IDF to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza and to protect the communities,” he said.
