Gaza ceasefire will end if Hamas does not release hostages by Saturday: Netanyahu

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that the ceasefire agreement in Gaza will end if hostages are not released by Saturday noon, February 15. “The military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” he said in a video statement.

His big warning came a day after Hamas announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages over “Israeli violations” of the ceasefire agreement.

Like the past three weeks, Hamas was scheduled to release more Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and other Palestinians held in Israeli detention. However, Hamas then alleged that Israel delayed Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza and also stopped humanitarian aid from entering the strip.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.