Israel says ceasefire will end if hostages not returned

Egypt said it plans to offer a "comprehensive vision" for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that ensures that Palestinians remain on their land, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It also said it looks forward to working with US President Donald Trump's administration to achieve a comprehensive and just peace in the region.

The statement comes as Trump presses ahead with his plan to take control of the Gaza Strip and transfer much of its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan, despite opposition from the Arab states.

Trump said he could "conceivably" halt aid to Egypt and Jordan if they refuse to cooperate with his plan.

Following a meeting with US President Donald Trump, Jordan's King Abdullah II reiterated his country's "steadfast" position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, adding that "this is the unified Arab position."

"Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all," he wrote on X.

Abdullah II also said that achieving a just peace based on the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability.

"This requires US leadership. President Trump is a man of peace. He was instrumental in securing the Gaza ceasefire. We look to US and all stakeholders in ensuring it holds," he added.

A week ago, Trump proposed that the United States "take over" and level the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, relocate the nearly 2 million Palestinians living there, and engage in a massive reconstruction effort to create the "Riviera of the Middle East."

US President Donald Trump hosted Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House and reiterated his proposal that Gaza be emptied of its residents, eventually to be controlled by the US and redeveloped as a tourist destination.

"We're going to take it. We're going to hold it, we're going to cherish it. We're going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East," Trump said in the Oval Office. 

Trump also said that he thinks Jordan and Egypt would ultimately agree to take in displaced Gazans. 

"I believe we'll have a parcel of land in Jordan. I believe we'll have a parcel of land in Egypt," said Trump. "We may have someplace else, but I think when we finish our talks, we'll have a place where they're going to live very happily and very safely."

Trump also said he would not personally develop property in Gaza as he pushes for the United States to take control of the Palestinian territory.

Abdullah II, who is leading Arab opposition to the US president's takeover plan, has told Trump that his country is ready to accept some 2,000 sick children from war-torn Gaza.

On Monday, Trump suggested that he could cut US aid to Jordan and Egypt if they refused to take in more Palestinians from Gaza. 

Speaking to reporters before a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, US President Donald Trump said he does not believe Hamas militants will meet a Saturday deadline to release all hostages.

Earlier, Trump had threatened that "all hell" will break loose if the militant group does not release the Israeli hostages by Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "intense fighting" would resume in Gaza if Hamas did not return hostages by noon Saturday, without specifying whether he was referring to all captives, or only the three that had originally been planned for release. 

The ceasefire was called into question when Hamas claimed Monday that Israel had violated key provisions, prompting it to cancel the release of three more hostages on Saturday.

"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated," Netanyahu said in a video statement issued after a meeting with his security cabinet.

After Netanyahu's statement, the Israeli military said it would deploy additional forces south.

"It was decided to increase reinforcements with additional troops, including reservists", the IDF said in a statement on Tuesday, adding the move was "carried out in preparation for various scenarios."

 

Reconstructing Gaza and ending the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the war-torn region would cost more than $53 billion (€52.4 billion), the UN estimates, with $20 billion needed in the first three years.

The report estimates that with "more than 60% of homes" destroyed in the more than year-long war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, the housing sector will need about $15.2 billion.

The commerce and industry sector will need an estimated $6.9 billion, as will the health sector, the report said. Reviving agriculture will require about $4.2 billion, transportation $2.9 billion, water and sanitation an estimated $2.7 billion, and education $2.6 billion.

The report also noted that $1.9 billion needs to be spent on the environmental sector as a result of the war, which has generated more than 50 million tons of debris laced with unexploded ordnance.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is "currently hanging by a thread" and that she fears fighting will resume.

"It is irresponsible that Hamas is carelessly jeopardizing the deal," she wrote on the social media platform Bluesky in response to the Islamist group's announcement on Monday that it would delay the release of further Israeli hostages, citing alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.

She added that the Israeli government and the US must also do everything they can to ensure that "we reach phase 2 and a perspective for real peace."

US President Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to Hamas to release hostages by noon on Saturday. 

Israel has announced the death of an elderly Israeli hostage, saying Hamas militants killed him during the October 2023 terror attack.

The Israeli military said the man's body had been taken to Gaza after the attacks, where it remains. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had notified the family of 85-year-old Shlomo Mansour of his death based on "intelligence gathered in recent months."

"Today, IDF representatives informed the family of Shlomo Mansour, who was brutally abducted from Kibbutz Kissufim into the Gaza Strip, that he was murdered by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7, 2023, and that his body is being held hostage in the Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A senior Hamas commander has said US President Donald Trump must realize that the only way to bring home Israeli prisoners is to respect the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the prisoners," said Sami Abu Zuhri, one of the leaders of the group, which is considered a terrorist organization in the US, EU and Israel.

"The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters," he said.

Earlier, the US president threatened that "all hell" will break out if Hamas does not release the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Saturday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Hamas to continue with the planned release of hostages a day after the Palestinian militant group announced its intention to halt the exchange.

"We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to an immense tragedy," he said in a statement.

Hamas on Monday announced it would suspend the release of Israeli hostages until further notice over what it alleged were Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. 

US President Donald Trump is expected to speak with Jordan's King Abdullah in Washington after suggesting that the United States should redevelop Gaza, with Palestinians to be resettled elsewhere.

Trump's proposal, floated last week, is for the United States to take over Gaza, remove its residents and transform the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

The suggestion drew a negative response from Arab countries and beyond.

Trump suggested on Monday that, if necessary, he would withhold US aid funding from Jordan and Egypt.

King Abdullah has said he rejects any effort to annex land and displace Palestinians. Jordan already hosts more than 2 million Palestinian refugees.

In what will likely be a tense encounter at the White House, he is expected to tell Trump that such a plan could fuel radicalism and spread chaos in the region, possibly jeopardizing peace with Israel.

Trump's suggestion has raised concerns about a sensitive regional dynamic, including the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

US President Donald Trump has warned that "all hell" would break loose if every Israeli hostage were not released from Gaza within days.

Trump's comments on Monday came after the militant group Hamas threatened to postpone further exchanges under a fragile ceasefire deal that it claims Israel is violating. 

Trump said he would urge the end of the ceasefire if every Israeli hostage was not released by noon on Saturday.

The truce agreement went into effect on January 19 and largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip. It saw five groups of Israeli hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody.

Tensions have increased after a shock proposal by Trump for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and remove its more than 2 million inhabitants.

"But, as far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday 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," Trump said.
According to the agreement, staggered releases should occur over an initial 42-day phase of the deal.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas announced that it is postponing until further notice the next release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, claiming that Israel had failed to abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the military wing of , said that, since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, Israel has delayed the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, targeted civilians with military shelling and gunfire, and prevented aid from entering the territory.

He said Hamas would not release any more hostages until Israel "complies and compensates for the past weeks."

More hostages were set to be released on Saturday in exchange for dozens of Palestinians held by Israel, but the Hamas spokesman said no more hostages would be released until further notice.

There have been five exchanges between Israel and Hamas in the first phase of the current ceasefire. Three hostages were released on Saturday.