• US president says ‘hell’ to break out if Israelis are not freed by Saturday
• ‘Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected’: Hamas

JERUSALEM: Israel threatened on Tuesday to resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if no prisoners were released this weekend, echoing a warning from US President Donald Trump that has strained the fragile truce deal.

Trump, who has taken credit for securing the agreement that went into effect last month, said that “hell” would break out if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli prisoners by Saturday.

As he was hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether his deadline still held, and said “Yes”. Under the terms of the ceasefire, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, prisoners were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five prisoner swaps. But the agreement has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated”.

Tensions, which initially spiked after Trump proposed last month taking over Gaza and removing its more than two million inhabitants, have grown following his latest comments. “As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock… I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said on Monday.

Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s remark “further complicates matters”. “Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties and this is the only way to return” the prisoners, he said. His group said it would postpone the next prisoner release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.

‘No more phases’

Netanyahu’s statement, issued after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, did not specify whether he was referring to all captives, but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right leader, called on the premier to “open the gates of hell” if Israel doesn’t get back “all the hostages… by Saturday”. “No more phases, no more games,” Smotrich said in a statement.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release. “We must avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to immense tragedy,” he said on X.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are aligned with Hamas and have launched attacks throughout the conflict in support of the Palestinians, said on Tuesday they were “ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza”.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it had decided “to raise the level of readiness” of its forces near the Gaza Strip and “increase reinforcements with additional troops, including reservists”.

Outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, several families of prisoners rallied with pictures of their loved ones, calling for the implementation of the existing deal.

“We can’t afford another arm wrestling between the sides. There is a deal. Go for it!” said Zahiro, whose uncle, Avraham Munder, died in captivity in Gaza.

Relatives of four prisoners said on Tuesday that recently freed captives told them that their loved ones were alive, but shared concerning details about their conditions.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2025