US President Donald Trump said Monday that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas should be canceled if the Palestinian group doesn’t release all the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza by midday Saturday.
In comments to reporters as he signed a series of executive orders, Trump said it was ultimately up to Israel. But he warned that “all hell is going to break out” if the remaining hostages aren’t released, adding that he feared many were dead.
“I’m speaking for myself,” Trump said. “Israel can override it.”
Hamas announced on Monday it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what it said were Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
In reply, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hamas had violated the ceasefire agreement with its announcement and that he had instructed the military to prepare at the highest level of readiness in Gaza and to defend Israeli communities.
Abu Obaida, a spokesperson for Hamas' military wing, said that since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19, Israel had delayed allowing displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, targeted Gazans with military shelling and gunfire and had stopped relief materials entering the territory.
