Hamas announced on Monday that it would delay the release of Israeli hostages “until further notice.” Hamas had agreed to release hostages on Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal.
Hamas military wing spokesman Hudhaifa Kahlout, known as Abu Obeida, told media that Israel had not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement over the past three weeks, claiming that the Israel Defense Forces are obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and targeting Palestinians returning to the north of the Strip.
“The release of the prisoners, which was scheduled for next Saturday, February 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice, pending the occupation’s compliance and retroactive fulfillment of the past weeks’ obligations,” Kahlout said. It should be noted that his term ‘prisoners’ refers to Israelis taken hostage during the Palestinian massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation [Israel] adheres to them,” the spokesman added. Hamas added that they had made the announcement five days before the planned release “to give the mediators sufficient opportunity to pressure the occupation to implement its obligations and to keep the door open to implement the exchange on time if the occupation adheres to its obligations.”
“These [violations] include delaying the return of displaced people to northern Gaza, targeting them with shelling and gunfire across various areas of the Strip, and failing to allow the entry of humanitarian aid in all its forms as agreed upon,” he added, asserting Hamas had “fulfilled all its obligations.”
President Trump responded to the news, speaking to the media from the Oval Office.
“It’s Israel’s decision, but as far as I’m concerned if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at twelve o’clock… I would say cancel it [the ceasefire], and all bets are off, and let hell break out,” the president said, emphasizing that releasing hostages “in dribs and drabs” was unacceptable.
Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a statement echoing the words of the US president, saying he “welcomed [US President Donald] Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by Saturday noon, and we all also welcomed the president’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza.”
“We all expressed outrage at the shocking state of our three hostages who were freed last Saturday. We all also welcomed President Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by noon on Saturday,” the prime minister wrote. “Unless Hamas returns our hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will end and the IDF will resume intensive fighting until Hamas is totally defeated,” his statement concluded.
Netanyahu has ordered the IDF to amass forces in and around the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli official said that the security cabinet expressed unanimous support for President Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by noon on Shabbat.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) took the ultimatum further. Speaking at a conference on the integration of the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) population, Smotrich said, “We need to set an ultimatum for Hamas; cut off their electricity and water and stop the humanitarian aid,” Smotrich said. “We must open the gates of hell.”
He added another threat, proposing that for every hostage harmed in captivity, Israel would annex 5% of the Gaza Strip. In addition, Smotrich called on the IDF to actively search out and arrest every Palestinian terrorist freed as part of the deal with Hamas.
“We need to notify Hamas the moment we return to war. We need to rearrest all the terrorists whom we released,” he said. “In Gaza, there will be no Hamas, there will be no enemies, and there will be no threat to Israel. It will again be part of the State of Israel, since it is our land and that is the only way to ensure the security of the State of Israel.”
There are 17 Israeli hostages still supposed to be returned in the first phase, in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners — including 737 serving life terms for dozens of murders — in return for 33 Israeli hostages during the deal’s first phase. Seventy-three of the 251 hostages are still held in Gaza, though it is unclear how many are still alive. In addition, the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF are being held by Hamas. 105 civilians were released during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Israel is pressuring mediators to secure the release of Shiri Bibas and her young sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 2. Hamas was to release living women and children first under the deal, and Israel has said it has “grave concern” for their lives. The father, Yarden Bibas, was released last week.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza in January.
