The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was at risk of faltering Tuesday after President Donald Trump warned “all hell is going to break out” if the Palestinian militant group does not release “all” the remaining hostages this week.
The war in the Gaza Strip is on pause following a complex agreement in which the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are incrementally exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.
But Hamas said late Monday that it was indefinitely postponing the next hostage-prisoner swap Saturday, accusing Israel of continuing to shoot at Palestinians, stopping them from moving back to the northern part of the strip, and delaying the entry of medical supplies and shelters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting with his security cabinet in Jerusalem on Tuesday to discuss how to move forward, an Israeli official briefed on the matter told NBC News.
An exchange slated for Saturday was set to see three more hostages freed from Gaza. But Trump responded to Hamas’ delay by demanding that all 76 remaining captives, 44 of whom are believed to be alive, are freed.
“If all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock — I think it’s an appropriate time — I would say cancel” the ceasefire, he told reporters, without specifying whether he meant noon or midnight.
When asked for specifics about what he meant by “hell,” the president said that “Hamas will find out what I mean” when asked for specifics.
The prospect of resuming a war in which more than 48,000 Gazans have been killed has alarmed international observers, as well as Palestinians in the enclave and the families of the hostages, most of whom were among the 250 kidnapped during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that also saw 1,200 people killed.
“We must avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to immense tragedy,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. “I appeal to Hamas to proceed with the planned liberation of hostages. Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume serious negotiations.”
Even before Hamas announced its delay in freeing hostages, confidence in the ceasefire has been shaken by Trump’s repeated statements that he wants to permanently remove Palestinians from Gaza so that the United States can develop the war zone as a real estate opportunity.
“I would own this — think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land,” Trump said Monday, contradicting his own aides, who had said the Palestinians’ relocation would be temporary.
“We’ll build beautiful communities, safe communities,” he said, “a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is.”
That’s alarmed many governments and experts, who point out that forcibly removing people from their homes is classed as ethnic cleansing under international law. Trump suggested he could revoke aid from Egypt and Jordan if they continued to refuse rehoming Gaza’s 2-million-plus population.
“Yeah, maybe, sure why not?” said Trump, who is meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House on Tuesday, when asked about ceasing financial assistance to the two countries.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ announcement has seen Israel ramp up its own security measures.
Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israel Defense Forces “to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza,” calling Hamas’ statement “a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Trump’s implied threat has garnered support among far-right nationalist lawmakers. Itamar Ben Gvir, who last month resigned as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security minister, wrote on X: “Trump is right!” adding that it was time to go back to Gaza and “destroy” — apparently referring to Hamas.
Many of the hostages’ families, on the other hand, are desperate for the ceasefire to remain intact.
“President Trump, I am asking you with all my heart: Do everything in your power to ensure that this deal continues!” said Idit Ohel, the mother of Alon Ohel, who was abducted from Israel’s Nova music festival Oct. 7, 2023.
At an event marking her captive son’s 24th birthday Monday, she said she received the first “proof of life” since he was taken.
On Tuesday Netanyahu gave a statement marking the death of another hostage, 86-year-old Shlomo Mantzur, in which the Israeli prime minister said he would “continue to act with determination and tirelessness until we return all of our abductees — both the living and the dead.”
Alexander Smith reported from London, and Lawahez Jabari and Yarden Segev reported from Tel Aviv.
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