Emboldened by President Trump’s calls for Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas by this weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed that in a video statement.
“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon,” he says, “the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated.”
Three hostages were set to be free on Saturday but Hamas announced on Monday that they would suspend this exchange because Israel had breached the deal.
While the ceasefire is in place, the IDF has stepped up firing on the West Bank. According to Haaretz, Israel has expanded its “open fire orders” to include allowing them to fire on any unarmed Palestinian, even if they are just “messing with the ground.” The claim is that this order is necessary to prevent explosives from being planted, but sources told Haaretz it has made soldiers “trigger happy.” They are also now allowed to fire on cars that are leaving combat zones in order to force them to stop.
The King of Jordan, Abdullah II, met with President Trump in the White House on Tuesday. He said that it was a “constructive” meeting and that Jordan has a “steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all.”
