Hamas must release three living hostages on Saturday under the terms of the ongoing Gaza truce deal or Israel will return to war in the Palestinian territory, an Israeli government spokesman said Thursday.
The ceasefire "framework makes clear that three live hostages must be released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday", spokesman David Mencer told reporters.
"If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages, by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end."
A fragile truce in Gaza, which came into effect on January 19, has come under increasing strain.
Hamas had announced on Monday it would indefinitely postpone the next hostage-prisoner exchange scheduled for Saturday.
The Palestinian militant group said it was delaying the release of Israeli captives "until further notice" because of what it called a series of Israeli ceasefire violations.
In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday Israel would resume "intense fighting" in Gaza unless Hamas returns the hostages by Saturday noon, without specifying whether he demanded the release of all captives.
The Israeli premier's statements appeared to echo those of US President Donald Trump, who has said "all hell" would break loose and he would call for the deal's cancellation if all hostages aren't released on Saturday.
With AFP
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