Benjamin Netanyahu issues warning ahead of Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is ready to resume war against Hamas if talks on a second phase of the ceasefire fail.

In a televised address hours before it was due to begin on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed that the ceasefire was “temporary” and Israel reserved the right to resume strikes on Gaza – and won the support of US President-elect Donald Trump to do so.

Netanyahu also outlined what he called the success of Israel’s military campaign over the past 15 months – including the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“We have changed the face of the Middle East,” Netanyahu said, before adding that Hamas was now “all alone.”

The ceasefire is due to take effect at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT).

Before his speech on Saturday, Netanyahu said Israel would not comply with the agreement until it received a list of hostages to be released by Hamas.

“Israel will not tolerate a violation of the agreement,” he said.

A longer list of 33 hostages to be released by Hamas has already been published by Israeli media, but has not been confirmed by officials.

But Israeli authorities say they have not yet received the names of the three hostages who are due to be released on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to carry out airstrikes on what it says are Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza – more than 120 people have been killed since the deal was announced on Wednesday, Hamas officials say.

Over the next few weeks, 33 hostages will be released in exchange for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel will also begin withdrawing its forces from Gaza.

The place where the first hostages will be transferred is unknown. A senior Israeli military official said three reception points had been set up near the border in northern, central and southern Gaza.

Earlier, a source close to Hamas told AFP that the first three hostages to be released would be women.

Negotiations on the terms of the second phase of the ceasefire are due to begin on the 16th day of the first phase and will focus on achieving a “final cessation of hostilities”.

Details of the second phase of the deal are still uncertain, but the remaining hostages, including men, are expected to be released in this phase as more Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons are freed.

There will also be a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. It is also understood that Hamas police – who will be unarmed unless absolutely necessary – will manage the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza

The third and final phase will involve the rebuilding of Gaza – something that could take years – and the return of any remaining bodies of the hostages.

on friday night The Israeli government approved the ceasefire agreement and the release of the hostages after hours of discussions.

Two far-right cabinet ministers voted against, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The drawn-out structure of the agreement is also causing anxiety and division among the families of the hostages. Some fear that relatives will be left behind in Gaza after the first phase ends.

On Saturday night, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that the government secure the release of the new hostages, fulfilling the first phase of the ceasefire.

Gal Alkalay, a member of the Hostage and Missing Persons Forum, told the Reuters news agency: “We could have saved the lives of 200 soldiers and more than 10 hostages.” She added that people died needlessly because the government “couldn’t make a decision and was waiting for Trump.”

Earlier on Saturday, several people were injured in a knife attack outside a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israeli police said. The attacker was reportedly shot dead at the scene by a civilian.

The suspect arrived in Tel Aviv “illegally” from Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.

There has been no respite for the Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire agreement was announced on Wednesday night.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said 123 people, including dozens of women and children, had been killed in the strikes since then.

On Saturday, the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense Rescue Agency said at least five members of a family were killed in a strike on their tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, AFP reported.

Since Thursday afternoon, the Israeli military said it struck 100 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who were among several “terrorist targets” hit in Gaza, Reuters reported.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Some 46,899 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. Much of the population of 2.3 million has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter amid the struggle to help those living in need.