Monitoring Desk
US President Donald Trump warned Monday that “all hell” would break loose if every Israeli hostage is not released from Gaza within days, after Hamas threatened to postpone further exchanges under a ceasefire it said Israel was violating, AFP reports.
Trump said he would call for the end of the ceasefire if every Israeli hostage was not released by noon on Saturday.
“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 told reporters at the White House.
US Senator rejects Trump’s plan, says Gaza ‘must be rebuilt’
US Senator Bernie Sanders has rejected Trump’s proposed plan to displace Palestinians in Gaza.
He wrote on X, “47,000+ Palestinians killed. 111,000 injured … Trump’s response? Forcibly expel Palestinians to make Gaza ‘a real estate development for the future. A beautiful piece of land.’
“No. Gaza must be rebuilt for the Palestinian people, not billionaire tourists.”
Palestinian president scraps prisoner payment system criticised by US
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree overturning a system of payments to the families of Palestinians imprisoned or killed by Israeli forces that has been a longstanding source of friction with the United States, Reuters reports.
The current system has been dubbed “pay for slay” by critics who say it rewards the families of militants who carry out attacks on Israel, although that label is rejected by Palestinians.
Payments will be transferred to a government body affiliated with the president’s office, according to the text of the decree, with a new disbursement mechanism, details of which have so far not been announced.
Scrapping the system has been a major demand of successive US administrations on the Palestinian Authority, the body set up three decades ago under the Oslo interim peace accords which exercises limited governance in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
UN expresses concern at ‘distressing conditions’ of Israeli captives, Palestinian detainees
Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, has issued a statement expressing deep distress at the images of “emaciated Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees” released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
“The images we have seen of Israeli hostages released over the weekend show signs of ill-treatment and severe malnourishment, reflecting very dire conditions they were subjected to in Gaza. We are also deeply concerned by the public parading of hostages released by Hamas in Gaza, including statements apparently made under duress during release,” Al-Kheetan was quoted as saying.
“Also distressing, Palestinians released from Israeli detention have revealed such treatment, reflecting the severe conditions under which they have been held. The manner in which they have been released also raises serious concerns,” he said.
The spokesperson called on Israel and Hamas to ensure “humane treatment, including freedom from any form of torture and abuse, for all those held under their power”. He also called on Hamas to release all captives held in Gaza and on Israel to free all those arbitrarily detained.
Egypt tells US top diplomat Rubio that Arab states reject Trump’s Gaza plan
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Arab states rejected US President Donald Trump’s widely condemned plan to displace Palestinians in Gaza and take control of the enclave, Reuters reports.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said Abdelatty, in a meeting in Washington, stressed the importance of expediting Gaza’s reconstruction while Palestinians remained there.
A statement by the US State Department after the meeting did not explicitly mention Trump’s plan but added that Rubio “reiterated the importance of close cooperation to advance post-conflict planning for the governance and security of Gaza and stressed Hamas can never govern Gaza or threaten Israel again.”
Israel military says to ‘significantly reinforce’ around Gaza
The Israeli military has said it would “significantly reinforce” areas around the Gaza Strip after Hamas announced its intention to postpone the release of Israeli hostages, part of a truce agreement for the territory, AFP reports.
“In accordance with the situational assessment, it was decided to raise the level of readiness and postpone leave for combat soldiers and operational units in the Southern Command … Additionally, it was decided to significantly reinforce the area with additional forces, for defensive missions,” the army said in a statement referring to its command responsible for Gaza.
Delays in ceasefire ‘will be a problem’: UN secretary-general
Deputy spokesperson of the UN secretary-general Farhan Haq responded to Hamas’s suspension of releasing Israeli captives. Al Jazeera reports.
“We want to make sure that all parties are committed to their declared responsibilities under the ceasefire and it is very important that they adhere to all relevant aspects of the agreement and all relevant timetables,” Haq said.
“It is clear that if there is any delay in any aspect of the agreement, it will be a problem. We want to make sure that there are no delays and that the full implementation of the agreement is carried out as planned in advance.”
Families of Israeli captives respond to Hamas’ announcement
Bring Them Home Now, the group representing families of Israeli captives, has responded to Hamas’s decision to delay their release, Al Jazeera reports.
“In response to Hamas’s recent announcement, we have urgently requested assistance from the mediating countries to help restore and implement the existing deal effectively,” the group said in a post on X.
It added: “We stand with the Israeli government and encourage maintaining the conditions that will ensure the successful continuation of the agreement, leading to the safe return of our 76 brothers and sisters.”
‘The Israelis are intentionally sabotaging the deal’: Hamas official
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Al Jazeera that Israel is not meeting the terms of the ceasefire agreement before the group called for an indefinite delay in the release of Israeli captives.
“In the last three weeks after signing the deal we have been in very serious talks and negotiations with the mediators — the Egyptians, the Qataris, and the United States — about the daily violations by the Israelis of the deal,” Naim said.
He noted that 25 Palestinians had been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli forces after the ceasefire went into effect.
Hamas officials called for hundreds of thousands of tents to be brought into Gaza to shelter people amid freezing conditions, and the necessary aid has not arrived.
“We are lacking any sources of electricity, we have called for generators to enter the strip,” Naim said.
“We have told them clearly how can we continue the prisoner exchange, including the dead bodies of the captured Israelis, if until now we don’t have any heavy machinery.
“We are committed to the ceasefire agreement, we have done our part. We have fulfilled all our obligations and we are still committed and we are working to avoid any obstacles and overcome any challenges. The Israelis are intentionally sabotaging the deal and undermining the agreement.”
