TEL AVIV: The Israeli army will resume hostilities in the Gaza Strip if the radical Palestinian movement Hamas does not release Israeli hos...
TEL AVIV: The Israeli army will resume hostilities in the Gaza Strip if the radical Palestinian movement Hamas does not release Israeli hostages by noon on February 15, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after a four-hour war cabinet meeting.
"The unanimous decision that I passed in the cabinet is as follows: if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end the Israel Defense Forces will resume intense fighting until the final defeat of Hamas.," the Prime Minister's Office quoted Netanyahu as saying.
At the same time, he did not specify the number of hostages Israel demands be released by Saturday.
Speaking about the war cabinet meeting, Netanyahu noted that all participants "expressed outrage over the shocking state" of the three Israeli hostages released on February 8. "We all welcomed [US] President [Donald] Trump's demand to release our hostages by Saturday noon as well, and we all welcomed the president's revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza," the prime minister added, commenting on the US leader's proposal to relocate Palestinians from the enclave to other countries.
Netanyahu also said that following Hamas' announcement to suspend the hostage release process, he ordered the Israeli army last night to "amass forces inside - and surrounding - the Gaza Strip." "This action is being carried out at this hour and will be completed very soon," he said, accusing the radicals of violating the agreement.
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