Jerusalem, Feb 11 (EFE).- After a four-hour security cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that if Hamas does not release the hostages by noon on Saturday, Israel will resume an armed offensive in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>
“The decision that I unanimously approved in the Cabinet is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will end, and the military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” Netanyahu said in a video message on Tuesday, without specifying whether he was referring to the three hostages release scheduled for Saturday or the nine from the first phase who are still alive.<\/p>
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Hebrew press, explained that Netanyahu was referring to the nine hostages still alive to be released within 42 days of Phase I of the ceasefire.<\/p>
“In light of Hamas’s announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not to release our hostages, I ordered the forces Monday night to gather in and around the Gaza Strip. This operation is underway and will be completed shortly,” he added.<\/p>
In a military statement, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it had mobilized additional troops and reservists in southern Gaza “to prepare at the highest level of readiness for any possible scenario.”<\/p>
Shortly before Netanyahu’s public announcement, Israeli officials (again on condition of anonymity) had already announced the cabinet’s support for United States President Donald Trump’s statements, who on Monday threatened to unleash “hell” on Gaza if the hostages were not out by midday on Saturday.<\/p>
“As far as I\u2019m concerned, if all of the hostages aren\u2019t returned by Saturday at 12 o\u2019clock. I think it\u2019s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said from the Oval Office after signing several executive orders.<\/p>
On Monday, Netanyahu stressed that everyone “applauds” Trump’s suggestion, as well as his “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” as the proposal to empty Gaza from Gazans, a war crime under international law if carried out by force.<\/p>
Hamas cited the Israeli government’s violations as the reason for postponing the sixth hostage exchange scheduled for Saturday, including a one-day delay in the return of displaced persons to northern Gaza, the continued killing of Gazans in the Strip, and allowing in only 10% of the planned 200,000 tents, no prefabricated housing and no rubble removal machines.<\/p>
Hamas appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to implement the Gaza ceasefire agreement “word for word” if he wants to free the hostages, a member of its political bureau, Mahmoud Mardawi, told EFE in response to Israel’s threat to return to war if the hostages are not released by noon on Saturday.<\/p>
“Netanyahu must implement the pact word for word. This will ensure that everything goes smoothly and without delay and will lead to the release of prisoners on both sides,” Mardawi said in a message. EFE<\/p>
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