US President Donald Trump has said if Hamas does not release all remaining hostages from Gaza by midday on Saturday, Israel should cancel the ceasefire and “let hell break out”.
It comes after Hamas says it’s delaying the release of Israeli hostages until further notice, accusing Israel of breaching the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Israel calls the decision a “complete violation” of the ceasefire deal, which began last month, and says the Israeli military is preparing at “the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza”.
In total, 17 Israeli hostages were still due to be relased in the first phase of the ceasefire, eight of whom Israel says are dead. The next release was due on Saturday.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been freed by Israel in exchange for the hostages released so far.
