The ceasefire in Gaza is hanging by a thread as Hamas accuses Trump of complicating matters with his ultimatum. Trump says he will call for an end to the truce if all Israeli hostages are not released by Saturday. Hamas, in turn, says it will delay the next hostage release due to Israel failing to meet its commitments under the agreement.
The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip appeared increasingly fragile on Tuesday after Hamas said that United States President Donald Trump 's latest warning 'further complicates' the truce agreement with Israel , which has so far led to five hostage-prisoner swaps.The ceasefire, in place since January 19, largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, but has come under growing strain. Tensions spiked after Trump proposed taking over Gaza and removing its more than 2 million inhabitants.
On Monday, he ramped up pressure, saying he would call for an end to the ceasefire if all Israeli hostages were not freed by noon on Saturday. 'As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday 12 o'clock — I think it's an appropriate time — I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,' Trump said. The ceasefire agreement calls for staggered releases over the 42-day first phase of the deal. A senior Hamas leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, said Trump's warning '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 (hostages),' he told Agence France-Presse (AFP). 'The language of threats has no value and further complicates matters.' Another senior Hamas official said Trump should pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'to implement the agreement, not procrastinate and obstruct' Gaza aid supplies. 'Hamas and the resistance factions are committed to implementing all the terms precisely in order to make the ceasefire a success and protect our people,' he told AFP. Trump's threat came hours after Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said the next hostage release due to take place on Saturday would be 'postponed until further notice.' It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans on Sunday. Hamas later said it announced the delay five days in advance to give mediators time to push Israel to comply. 'The door remains open for the prisoner exchange batch to proceed as planned, once the occupation complies,' it said. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called Hamas' move a 'complete violation' of the ceasefire agreement, signaling that fighting could resume. 'I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza,' he said, using the acronym of the Israeli military's formal name. Negotiators were set to meet in Qatar to discuss the truce's implementation, which remains unsettled. Talks on a second phase were supposed to start on day 16 of the truce, but Israel had refused to send negotiators to Doha. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group said on Monday it had 'requested assistance from the mediating countries to help restore and implement the existing deal effectively.' Trump on Jordan, Egypt On Sunday, Netanyahu praised Trump's proposal to displace Gazans as 'revolutionary.' The proposal, which the United Nations and experts have said would violate international law, has already drawn widespread criticism. Trump said Monday he could 'conceivably' halt aid to US allies Jordan and Egypt if they refuse to take in Palestinians under his controversial Gaza plan. The threat to withhold aid came after Egypt said it rejected 'any compromise' of Palestinian rights, including 'remaining on the land.' Trump told Fox News Channel's Bret Baier that Palestinians would not have the right to return to Gaza. 'I'm talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it'll be years before you could ever — it's not habitable,' said Trump of the devastated enclave. Asked if the Palestinians would have the right to return, Trump said: 'No, they wouldn't, because they're going to have much better housing.' For Palestinians, any attempt to force them out of Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the 'Nakba' or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.
GAZA CEASEFIRE HAMAS TRUMP ISRAEL HOSTAGES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
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