The Israeli Prime Minister said he had instructed troops to gather in positions in and around the Gaza Strip in preparation for an attack.
“This action is taking place at this hour. It will be completed soon,” he said.
On Monday, Hamas said it would delay the release of Israeli hostages until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire deal.
Donald Trump later demanded that the terror group release all the remaining captives held in Gaza by Saturday. However, Israel has been careful not to call for all 76 hostages left in Hamas captivity to be released on Saturday in case it inflames the situation, Hebrew media reported.
US President Donald Trump. Photo / AFP
Netanyahu’s office said it expected nine living hostages to be released in the coming days, adding that Israel would not move forward with the negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire until the hostages are returned.
An Israeli delegation is currently in Qatar for talks on the deal’s second stage, which would see all remaining hostages freed in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah II told Trump that his country was ready to take in 2000 sick children from the Gaza Strip after previously rejecting any moves to relocate Palestinians from the strip.
He spoke during a visit to the White House, where the US President was pushing his plan to move all Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan and turn the ruined enclave into the “Riveria” of the Middle East.
“I can tell you about real estate. They’re going to be in love with it,” Trump said of his plan for Gaza, suggesting the area could have new hotels, homes and office buildings.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II told Donald Trump his country was ready to take in 2000 sick children from Gaza. Photo / Getty Images
He also suggested that he could support Israel in annexing the West Bank. “That’s going to work out very well … work out automatically,” Trump said when asked if he would support a full Israeli takeover.
Asked about the prospect of taking in Palestinians, King Abdullah said Arab nations would give Trump a counter-proposal. “The point is how to make this work in a way that is good for everybody,” he said.
Tensions, which initially spiked after Trump proposed 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,” the US President said on Monday.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas leader, said Trump’s remark “further complicates matters”, telling AFP that “Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties and this is the only way to return” the hostages.
His group said it would postpone the next hostage release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.
Netanyahu’s statement did not specify whether he was referring to all captives but Bezalel Smotrich, his Finance Minister and a far-Right leader, called on him to “open the gates of hell” if Israel does not get back “all the hostages ... by Saturday”. He said in a statement: “No more phases, no more games.”
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, the families of several hostages rallied with pictures of their loved ones, calling for the implementation of the existing deal.
“We can’t afford another arm-wrestle between the sides. There is a deal. Go for it,” said Zahiro, whose uncle, Avraham Munder, died in captivity in Gaza.
Relatives of recently freed captives had told them their loved ones were alive, but shared concerning details about their condition.
Avishag Levy, whose cousin Eliya Cohen was abducted from the site of a music festival, told a parliamentary session she had heard from ex-hostages over the weekend that he was being held in chains and was suffering from malnutrition and torture.
In the five hostage-prisoner swaps so far, 16 Israeli hostages have been freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
