JERUSALEM: Israel’s military has called up reservists in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday (Feb 15) deadline to release more Israeli hostages and a nearly month-old ceasefire breaks down.
Under the ceasefire deal in force since Jan 19, the Palestinian militant group agreed to free three more hostages on Saturday. But it said this week it was suspending the handover because of what it said were Israeli violations of the terms.
US President Donald Trump responded by saying all hostages must be freed by noon on Saturday or he would “let hell break out”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that Israel would resume “intense fighting” if Hamas did not meet the deadline, but did not say how many hostages should be freed.
Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to gather forces in and around Gaza, and the military announced shortly afterwards that it was deploying additional forces to Israel’s south, including mobilising reservists.
The standoff threatens to reignite a conflict that has devastated the Gaza Strip, internally displaced most of its people, caused shortages of food, running water and shelter, and pushed the Middle East to the brink of a wider regional war.
Israeli officials said government ministers had endorsed Trump’s threat to “cancel” the ceasefire unless all the remaining Israeli hostages are released on Saturday.
Hamas has said it remains committed to the agreement but has not agreed to release the hostages on Saturday.
A Palestinian official close to the talks said mediators had stepped up their intervention “to prevent things sliding into a real crisis”.
Asked for comment on where things stand, another Hamas official told Reuters, without giving details: “Contacts are under way.”
The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken as hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
In response, Israel began a military offensive against Hamas that has laid waste the coastal enclave and killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
