President Trump on Monday said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas should be canceled and warned that “all hell” will break loose in the Middle East if Hamas doesn’t release all the remaining hostages it’s holding in Gaza by midday Saturday.
Speaking to reporters as he signed a series of executive orders, Mr. Trump warned that “all hell is going to break out” if the remaining hostages are not released, adding that he feared many were dead.
“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,” Mr. Trump said. “I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday. And if they’re not returned — all of them, not in drips and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two — by Saturday at 12 o’clock. And after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out.”
Mr. Trump added that he was speaking for himself and that Israel can override his decision. He later doubled down on his warning.
“Saturday at 12 o’clock, and after that, it’s going to be a different ballgame,” he said.
Asked what he meant when he said “all hell will break out,” Mr. Trump declined to offer further details.
“You’ll find out, and they’ll find out too. Hamas will find out what I mean,” he said.
Hamas and its affiliated groups reportedly are holding 73 hostages taken from Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. An additional three hostages, held captive since 2014, are still in Gaza. On Saturday, Hamas released three hostages in the latest exchange since a ceasefire in its war with Israel went into effect on Jan. 19.
In return, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners, 18 of whom were serving life sentences.
Hamas has now released 16 Israeli hostages as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Earlier Monday Hamas threatened to postpone the next release scheduled to take place in Gaza on Saturday “until further notice,” and accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire deal.
Israel countered that the threatened postponement was “a complete violation of the ceasefire” and readied the Israeli military to prepare for “any possible scenario” in Gaza.
Abu Obeida, spokesperson for Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, an armed wing of the organization, said the handover of the hostages will be “postponed until further notice” and “until the occupation commits to and compensates for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively.”
“We affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them,” he wrote.
In a later statement, Hamas said there was still an opportunity for the release to go forward, but the threat to keep the hostages “serves as a warning” to Israel and was meant to pressure the Jewish state into “fully honoring” the terms of the ceasefire deal.
Mr. Obeida accused Israel of violating the agreement over the past three weeks by alleging it delayed the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with shelling and gunfire and various areas of the strip and barring the entry of relief supplies.
He also accused Israel of blocking the shipping of tents, prefabricated houses, fuel and rubble-removing mechanisms into the strip.
Israel has denied the allegations. In response, the Israel Defense Forces said it was “raising its level of readiness in southern Israel and postponing leave for combat soldiers” and would reinforce the area to enhance its “readiness for various scenarios.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.