Israel will resume “intense” fighting in Gaza if all hostages are not released by Saturday noon, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.
"The military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated," he said in a video statement on Tuesday afternoon, as US president Donald Trump met with Jordan’s King Abdullah in the White House.
Netanyahu has echoed Trump, who threatened to let “hell break out” in Gaza if the dozens of remaining Israeli hostages weren’t freed by Saturday.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri hit back at the threat on Tuesday, warning Trump that abiding by the ceasefire is the only way to ensure the hostages return.
"Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the prisoners. The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters," he said.
Hamas indefinitely suspended the release of hostages on Monday, accusing Israel of breaching ceasefire obligations. The group accused Israel of delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, carrying out strikes across the enclave and hindering the entry of humanitarian aid.
Key Points
- Israel will resume fighting in Gaza if hostages not freed by Saturday noon, says Netanyahu
- Trump says ‘let all hell break out’ if all Israeli hostages are not freed by weekend
- Abiding by ceasefire only way to bring hostages home, says Hamas official
- Oldest hostage in Gaza confirmed dead by Israel
- Israel's killing of pregnant Palestinian woman raises fears in West Bank
Israel will resume fighting in Gaza if hostages not freed by Saturday noon, says Netanyahu
17:22
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Alex Croft
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Gaza ceasefire would end if Hamas did not return hostages in the enclave by noon on Saturday.
"The military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated," he said in a video statement.
Donald Trump meets Jordan's King Abdullah
17:16
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Alex Croft
Donald Trump met Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday for what is expected to be a tense encounter after the US presidents controversial Gaza proposals.
Trump has proposed to forcibly transfer Palestinians out of Gaza before a US takeover of the strip would see it turned into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
King Abdullah has rejected any proposal to annex Palestinian land and displace its people. He is expected to convey his stance in today’s meeting.
Trump greeted King Abdullah and they stood together briefly outside the White House before entering for their meeting.
Watch live: Trump faces showdown with Jordan’s king over Gaza plans
16:38
,
Alex Croft
Starmer faces backlash from 38 Labour MPs over failure to confront Trump on Gaza ‘ethnic cleansing’
16:01
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Alex Croft
Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to challenge Donald Trump over his plans to turn Gaza into his latest real estate project.
It comes as 38 Labour MPs wrote to him demanding he takes a stand against Mr Trump’s “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza in the biggest public backlash within the party against the prime minister since Labour won the election.
In a sign of the shared anger across parliament, the letter was also signed by eight independent MPs, four from Plaid Cymru, two SNP, two SDLP and one Alliance Party along with 13 peers from different parties including Labour.
Sir Keir attempted to avoid condemnation of the US president when he was confronted on the issue during Prime Minister’s Questions but Downing Street confirmed the PM planned to talk to the US president over the shock plans.
Political editor David Maddox and chief international correspondent Bel Trew report:
In pictures: Gaza left in ruins amid fragile ceasefire
15:30
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Alex Croft
Houthis threaten to strike Israel again if ceasefire not upheld
15:01
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Alex Croft
The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group who control most of western Yemen will launch attacks on Israel if attacks Gaza and does not fulfill its ceasefire obligations, the group’s leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said in a speech on Tuesday.
The group had attacked vessels in the Red Sea belonging to Israel and its allies, in what it described as an act of support with Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump to discuss Gaza with Jordan's King Abdullah in tense meeting
14:37
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump will meet Jordanian King Abdullah on Tuesday, hours after the US president threatened to let “all hell break out” if Hamas doesn’t release all hostages by Saturday noon.
It is Trump’s first meeting with the leader of an Arab country since his proposals for the forcible transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza to allow the US to take over the strip and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East".
King Abdullah has rejected any moves to remove Palestinians from their homeland. On Tuesday, he is expected to tell Trump such a move could boost radicalism, cause chaos in the region, jeopardize peace with Israel - threatening the country's survival.
Hamas suspends release of Israeli hostages from Gaza – putting ceasefire deal at risk
14:15
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Alex Croft
Hamas says it is suspending the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza – leaving a ceasefire agreed with Israel to end 15 months of war inside Gaza on a knife edge.
Israel and Hamas are in the middle of a six-week truce during which Hamas is releasing dozens of the hostages captured in its attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 prisoners. Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating the terms of the ceasefire. The Israeli public was shocked by the emaciated appearance of Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, the three hostages who were released on Saturday, which has complicated progress on the deal. Many Palestinian prisoners released to Ramallah hours after the Israelis were freed also looked extremely thin, and seven out of 43 needed hospital treatment, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said.
International editor Chris Stevenson reports:
Parties must cooperate to ensure truce holds, says UK government
13:49
,
Alex Croft
The UK government has called on all parties involved in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire to “cooperate” to ensure the truce holds.
“Our focus absolutely remains on the true the ceasefire can be sustained,” a government spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“We need to see the release of hostages this Saturday. This is a fragile deal.
“We're committed to building confidence on all sides to help sustain it, and we encourage all parties to engage, to sustain the ceasefire, to see all hostages released, and indeed continued flow of aid into Gaza, but [for] this deal to work really good parties [need] to cooperate in order to ensure all stages of the ceasefire are completed.”
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan hit by US sanctions
13:30
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Alex Croft
International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan is the first to be hit with economic and travel sanctions authorised by US president Donald Trump targeting Israel’s war crimes tribunal.
Mr Khan, who is British, was named in an annex to an executive order signed by Trump last week, Reuters reported.
The ICC on Friday condemned the sanctions, pledging to stand by its staff and "continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it”.
The Independent View | In the interest of both sides, the Gaza ceasefire deal must continue to be honoured
13:09
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Alex Croft
In the nearly three weeks that have passed since Israel and Hamas concluded the ceasefire agreement, there have been five exchanges of hostages and prisoners. These exchanges have not been without last-minute hitches and delays, but they have taken place – to the immense joy and relief of the families and friends of those who have returned, and doubtless to the satisfaction of the many officials who concluded and helped to broker the agreement.
The procession of displaced Palestinians returning to northern Gaza, many seemingly in good heart, has also been an extraordinary testament to human resilience, given that most were setting off on the journey more in hope than in confidence that they would have any sort of home to return to. Their determination to return is all the more impressive given the immediate need that exists for food and medical aid, not to mention the gargantuan task of reconstruction that lies ahead.
Read The Independent’s view:
Egypt and Danish leaders discuss Gaza in phone call
12:49
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Alex Croft
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and prime minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen discussed the Gaza truce in a phone call on Tuesday, according to a readout from Egypt’s government.
“President El-Sisi and the Danish Prime Minister reiterated the crucial need for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement in its three stages, the exchange of hostages and detainees, as well as facilitating immediate and unfettered access for humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to end the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sector,” it read.
“They also underscored the imperative to begin the reconstruction of Gaza to make it livable again, without displacing its Palestinian population, safeguarding their rights and ability to live on their land.”
ICYMI: Netanyahu praises Trump's idea for US to take over Gaza
12:30
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Alex Croft
Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza hits 48,219
12:11
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Alex Croft
At least 48,219 Palestinians have been killed and 111,665 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said on Thursday.
In the past 24 hours, 11 deaths were recorded and 10 people went into hospitals injured, health authorities said according to Wafa news agency.
Israel's fatal shooting of a pregnant Palestinian woman raises fears in the West Bank
11:51
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Alex Croft
The call came in the middle of the night, Mohammed Shula said. His daughter-in-law, eight months pregnant with her first child, was whispering. There was panic in her voice.
“Help, please,” Shula recalled her saying. “You have to save us.”
Minutes later, Sondos Shalabi was fatally shot.
Shalabi and her husband, 26-year-old Yazan Shula, had fled their home in the early hours of Sunday as Israeli security forces closed in on Nur Shams refugee camp, a crowded urban district in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.
Israeli military vehicles surrounded the camp days earlier, part of a larger crackdown on Palestinian militants across the northern occupied West Bank that has escalated since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza took effect last month.
Pregnant woman Sondos Shalabi was killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Read more here:
Stop dodging the Gaza issue, Prime Minister – get on the right side of history
11:35
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Alex Croft
This week has marked a new, horrifying phase in the long history of attempts to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people from their homeland.
Donald Trump’s comments made during Tuesday’s US-Israeli press conference in Washington – that he wishes to “take over” Gaza, to make it “the Riviera of the Middle East” – constitute the most explicit denial of the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and return by any US administration to date.
Away from the headline proposals on Gaza’s future, many Palestinians now fear the prospective Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have escalated attacks since the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Director of the British Palestinian Committee Dr Sara Husseini writes:
Syrian president: Trump Gaza plan is a 'serious crime'
11:17
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Alex Croft
Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has described Donald Trump’s plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza as a “serious crime that will ultimately fail”.
Trump has called for Palestinians to be removed from Gaza to make way for a US-owned major development site.
"I believe no power can drive people from their land. Many countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half," Mr Sharaa said.
"Over 80 years of this conflict, all attempts to displace them have failed; those who left have regretted their decision. The Palestinian lesson that every generation has learned is the importance of holding on to their land.”
Egypt, Jordan and other Arab nations have also opposed any attempt to push Palestinians over the border.
In pictures: Palestinians flee Israeli West Bank raids
10:58
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Alex Croft
Who are remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza and when might they be freed?
10:40
,
Alex Croft
More than a year after Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023 – killing around 1,200 people and taking another 250 captive – around 80 hostages remain, although Israel believes around a third are dead.
A ceasefire deal currently in place promises the release of the hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian militants in Gaza.
The first stage of the ceasefire to due to last six weeks and see “a full and complete ceasefire” while 33 hostages in Gaza and up to 1,900 Palestinian prisoners in Israel are to be freed. The hostages released will include women, the elderly and the sick.
Tara Cobham and Tom Watling report:
Trump to discuss Gaza with Jordan's King Abdullah in tense meeting
10:19
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump will meet Jordanian King Abdullah on Tuesday, hours after the US president threatened to let “all hell break out” if Hamas doesn’t release all hostages by Saturday noon.
It is Trump’s first meeting with the leader of an Arab country since his proposals for the forcible transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza to allow the US to take over the strip and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East".
King Abdullah has rejected any moves to remove Palestinians from their homeland. On Tuesday, he is expected to tell Trump such a move could boost radicalism, cause chaos in the region, jeopardize peace with Israel - threatening the country's survival.
A Hamas delay in Gaza's next hostage release brings fear on all sides for ceasefire
09:59
,
Alex Croft
The Hamas announcement that it will delay the next planned release of Israeli hostages from Gaza has threatened a fragile truce that’s seen as having the potential to wind down 16 months of war.
It has brought new dismay for Israelis who watched the latest Hamas handover of hostages in growing horror over the weekend as the three emaciated men came into sight. Of the hostages yet to be released from Gaza under this phase of the ceasefire, Israel has said eight are dead.
The developments also have led to new fear in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have surged to what remains of their homes in the territory’s north after being evacuated in the war’s earliest weeks.
Full report here:
Oldest hostage in Gaza confirmed dead by Israel
09:43
,
Alex Croft
The family of Shlomo Mansour has been informed by Israeli military that he was killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7.
“The decision to confirm his death was based on intelligence gathered in recent months and was approved by an expert committee of the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Israel Police,” the Israeli military announced.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his “heartfelt condolences” to the family of Mr Mansour, who he said was one of the founders of Kibbutz Kissufim.
Mr Mansour was believed to be the oldest hostage in Gaza.
Trump: Think of Gaza as a big real estate site that the US will own
09:32
,
Alex Croft
Abiding by ceasefire only way to bring hostages home, says Hamas official
09:25
,
Alex Croft
Abiding by the ceasefire deal is the only way to bring home Israeli hostages, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Tuesday.
"Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the prisoners. The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters," he told Reuters.
Hamas indefinitely suspended the release of hostages on Monday, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its ceasefire obligations.
'Resumption of hostilities must be avoided at all cost' - UN chief
09:14
,
Alex Croft
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to continue with the release of hostages, one day after the militant group announced it would halt the exchange.
"We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to an immense tragedy," Mr Guterres said in a statement.
It comes after Hamas said on Monday it would stop releasing Israeli hostages due to alleged violations of the ceasefire agreement, including air strikes on areas in the enclave.
"Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume negotiations in Doha for the second phase", Mr Guterres added.
Trump says ‘let all hell break out’ if all Israeli hostages are not freed by weekend
09:05
,
Alex Croft
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened Hamas after the militant group paused plans to release more of the Israeli hostages it holds this weekend, telling reporters that “all hell is going to break out” if all of the Israeli hostages held by the group aren’t freed by noon on Saturday.
““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,” he 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,” Trump added.
White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg reports:
