US President Donald Trump has demanded that the Palestinian Hamas movement release all hostages as part of a deal with Israel by midday Saturday or the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will be broken.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office late Monday night, the US president also said he may suspend aid to Jordan and Egypt if those countries do not accept Palestinian refugees being resettled from Gaza.
Donald Trump told reporters at the White House:
“As far as I’m concerned, 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 it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday.”
Asked what the US would do if Hamas did not comply, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens.”
Trump’s comments came after Hamas said it was delaying the release of hostages indefinitely because of “violations” of the ceasefire agreement, prompting Israel’s defence minister to put the country’s armed forces on alert with orders to prepare for “any scenario in Gaza.”
Later, Trump called Hamas’ statement “appalling” and said “let it be Israel’s decision” on what should ultimately happen with the ceasefire.
Release of the hostages has been delayed
On February 11, Abu Ubaidah, a spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, said the movement had postponed the release of hostages who were due to return home on February 15. He said:
“Hamas believes Israel violated the deal when it delayed the return of displaced persons from the south of the enclave to the north, opened fire on Gazans and failed to deliver all types of humanitarian aid in the required quantities.”
The next exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners was scheduled for this Saturday and was to be the sixth in the six-week first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
On January 19, a ceasefire went into effect in the Gaza Strip. Under the first phase of the truce, which will last 42 days, Hamas is expected to release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women and children. Israel will respond by releasing 30 Palestinian prisoners for each civilian released, 50 for each soldier.
Earlier, Trump announced his readiness to occupy the Gaza Strip and begin “clearing” it. Commenting on this, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the words of the American leader do not deserve attention and discussion. In his opinion, the Palestinians will continue to live in the enclave and no one is able to expel them from there.
