Israel-Gaza latest: Hamas says it is suspending hostage releases – Israel says military now on ‘highest alert’ – BBC.com
Source: BBC News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Gaza ceasefire will end if Hamas does not release Israeli hostages on Saturday
Hamas said on Monday it would not release three Israelis as planned this weekend, because of alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire
Netanyahu says the Israeli military is ready to “return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated”
Donald Trump says he does not think Hamas will “make the deadline” – on Monday he said Israel should “let hell break out” if Hamas does not release all remaining hostages
Trump is hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah after suggesting he may withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if they don’t co-operate with his plan to take control of Gaza and resettle the population in the two countries
In total, 17 Israeli hostages were still due to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire, eight of whom Israel says are dead. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been freed by Israel so far
Edited by Andrew Humphrey and Emily Atkinson, with Lucy Williamson reporting from Jordan, and Bernd Debusmann Jr from the White House
We’ve just heard from Egypt, who say they intend to present a “vision” for the reconstruction of Gaza that “guarantees the survival of the Palestinian people on their land”.
Egypt voiced its “aspiration” to cooperate with US President Donald Trump’s administration “to achieve comprehensive and just peace in the region, by reaching a just settlement of the Palestinian issue that takes into account the rights of the peoples of the region”.
In a statement shared on social media by the foreign ministry’s spokesman, external, Egypt says its plans will put forward a “comprehensive vision” for the survival of Palestinians that is “consistent with the legitimate and legal rights”.
The statement went on to say that any vision, or plan, for what happens next in the region should “avoid jeopardising the gains of peace”.
Earlier, when pressed on Trump’s plans to takeover Gaza, King Abdullah of Jordan said Egypt would be putting forward a plan on working with the US.
As we’ve been reporting, Donald Trump welcomed Jordan’s King Abdullah to the White House earlier today.
Our correspondent in Washington DC has more on the outcome of the meeting – including how the US president doubled down on his commitment to occupy Gaza.
And we subsequently heard King Abdullah’s rejection of Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from the territory.
Here’s how it looked as the pair met for the first time in Trump’s second stint in the White House:
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged Israel and Hamas to ensure the ceasefire deal continues to hold.
“I [Antonio Guterres] appeal to Hamas to proceed with the planned liberation of hostages next Saturday, and both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume serious negotiations in Doha for the second phase.”
Guterres’ statement was read out by UN spokesman Rolando Gomez at a news briefing in Geneva.
“We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities in Gaza,” Gomez read, adding that it results in “immense tragedy”.
Gomez also said that the UN’s priority was on getting aid into Gaza, which continues to be an “enormous need”.
Protestors have gathered in Tel Aviv, with some criticising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he delivered an ultimatum to Hamas on the fragile ceasefire.
“Unfortunately, we are all only pieces in the games of Bibi [Netenyahu] and our government,” Avigail Tielmor tells the Reuters news agency.
“I have to say we are not our government. We do not support what our government is doing.”
Another man, Amit Kakderon, says he hopes for all of the remaining hostages to be released by noon on Saturday, but accepts “this is not what the deal says”.
“If Israel wanted to get a deal for all of the hostages, I think we could have done it,” he adds.
“The Israeli government chose to do this in parts and not to conclude one deal for all of them.”
Amit Kakderon says Netanyahu could have done more to rescue the hostages
Donald Trump’s Gaza plan
raises an “existential issue” for Jordan, says a former US diplomat
who worked for Donald Trump’s first administration in the Middle East.
James Jeffrey, who has
worked for various US presidents in the region – most recently as Trump’s special representative for Syria engagement – is speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme.
On his time working for President Trump, he says: “I learnt to take him seriously but also to be
flexible.”
Jeffrey lays out a
series of problems he sees with Trump’s Gaza plan:
“Who
is going to use the bayonets to drive two million Gazans, who… don’t want
to leave Gaza, out of there?
“Who is going to
take them? It is an existential issue for Jordan, it’s not just, ‘do we have
the space for refugees and who will fund them?’, it’s a question of the
demographics of a country that’s already split between Bedouin Arabs who
typically support the King, and Palestinians who are willing to keep options
open
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