The Age (& SMH) / Reuters | James Mackenzie | 12 February 2025
This is pure evil – Mark
US President Donald Trump has reacted to a delay in the release of hostages announced by Hamas by saying all captives in Gaza must be released by midday Saturday, or he will propose cancelling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out”.
Hamas earlier announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what the Palestinian militant group called violations of the ceasefire agreement, raising the risk of reigniting the conflict.
The unexpected announcement came even as families of the Israeli hostages urged the government to stick to the deal, and Gazans sought to start rebuilding their lives in the shattered enclave after more than 15 months of war.
Hamas military wing spokesperson Abu Ubaida said Israeli violations included delaying Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, shelling and firing upon Palestinians and stopping humanitarian aid from entering the strip.
Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on his response and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But in a wide-ranging session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump also expressed anger with the physical condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas on Saturday, who appeared gaunt.
“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. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” Trump said.
