By Richard Thompson

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that a ceasefire that temporarily paused the war in Gaza will end this weekend unless Hamas frees Israeli hostages it is holding in captivity.

“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday at noon – the ceasefire will be terminated, and the (Israel Defense Forces) will return to intense combat until the final defeat of Hamas,” Netanyahu said in a statement after a meeting of his security cabinet.

It was not immediately clear if Netanyahu meant Hamas should release all hostages that are held in Gaza or just those that had been expected to be released on Saturday under the ceasefire.

Netanyahu’s threat to kill the ceasefire comes just one day after Hamas announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what it said were Israeli violations of the agreement. Hamas claims Israel has been slow to allow aid into Gaza, one of the conditions of the first phase of the deal. Israel denies the allegation.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, struck in January after months of negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., called for the Palestinian militant group to release 33 hostages during the first phase of the deal. In return, Israel was to release around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Hamas has released 16 hostages so far, while 17 others have yet to be freed. Seventy-three are still being held in Gaza.

Israel believes some of the unreleased hostages are dead. Israeli officials announced Tuesday that the oldest hostage, Holocaust survivor Shlomo Mansour, was killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, the day the group mounted a massive attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, and that his body is being held hostage in Gaza.

Israel has released more than 700 Palestinian prisoners from its jails as a result of the ceasefire and hostage agreement.

Netanyahu’s remarks on Tuesday, however, are raising concerns the fragile deal will be called off before the remaining hostages are freed.

Following Netanyahu’s remarks, the Israeli military said it was deploying additional forces, including mobilizing reservists, in the south of the country.

A group representing families of hostages urged Netanyahu to stick to the ceasefire agreement.

"We must not go backwards,” the hostages forum said in a statement. “We cannot allow the hostages to waste away in captivity.”

'All hell'

The noon Saturday deadline that Netanyahu mentioned is the same one that President Donald Trump posed Monday when he issued an ultimatum to Hamas. Trump told reporters at the White House that Israel should cancel the ceasefire unless every hostage is freed.

If they aren’t, “all hell is going to break out,” he said.

A Hamas official said Israeli hostages could be brought home only if the ceasefire was respected, dismissing the "language of threats."

"Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the (Israeli) prisoners," a senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. "The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters."

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• Gaza ceasefire in peril

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