Hours after Hamas announced it would not move forward with the next scheduled release of Israeli hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the terror group to release nine of the remaining hostages by Saturday afternoon or face "intense combat" in the Gaza Strip that will continue until the terror group is "decisively defeated."
"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated," the Israeli leader said Tuesday as a tenuous ceasefire between the sides begins to fully unravel.
Netanyahu's remarks came shortly after Hamas shuttered the next round of hostage releases, scheduled for Saturday, over purported Israeli "violations" of the ceasefire deal. In turn, President Donald Trump said "all hell is going to break out" if Hamas did not release "all" remaining hostages by Saturday, comments that emphasized his support for Israel ditching the ceasefire and resuming full-scale military operations.
Netanyahu isn't doing that yet, but he could soon restart the war if Hamas fails to heed his demands. Late Monday, Netanyahu's administration ordered Israeli forces to surround the Gaza Strip in preparation for war.
"In light of Hamas' announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, last night I ordered the IDF to gather forces inside and around the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said following an emergency meeting with his security cabinet. "This operation is being carried out at this time. It will be completed in the very near future."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"I have just concluded an in-depth four-hour discussion in the political-security cabinet. We all expressed our outrage at the shocking situation of our three hostages who were released last Saturday.
We all also welcomed President Trump's… pic.twitter.com/E9nYM13PwH
— Iris (@streetwize) February 11, 2025
The ongoing developments highlight the ceasefire’s fragility and reflect mounting frustration in Israel over Hamas’s treatment of the captives, including those who have already been released. Seventeen Israeli hostages are still scheduled to be freed during the first phase of a three-tiered agreement, though the prospects of this occurring are dim. Israel said it will not move forward with negotiations over the deal’s second phase until all of its hostages come home.
In several stage-managed ceremonies held in recent weeks, Hamas has paraded malnourished Israeli hostages through the Gaza Strip, threatening their safety. The scenes have roiled the Israeli public and drawn outrage from Trump, who likened the captives to "Holocaust survivors."
"Who could take that?" Trump said on Monday. "At some point, we are going to lose our patience. They look like they haven't eaten for months. There is no reason for this."