Netanyahu issues an “ultimatum”

According to the Singapore Lianhe Zaobao website on February 12, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that if Hamas does not release the hostages before noon on the 15th of this month, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will end and the army will continue to fight Hamas.

The report quoted Reuters as saying that before Israel announced the news, Netanyahu met with several key ministers, including the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of National Security. He said that these ministers fully supported the ultimatum.

Netanyahu said: “If Hamas does not return the hostages before noon on the 15th, the ceasefire agreement will end and the Israel Defense Forces will resume fierce fighting until Hamas is finally defeated.”

The report said it was unclear whether Netanyahu meant that Hamas should release all the hostages it was holding in Gaza, or only the three hostages originally scheduled to be released on the 15th under the ceasefire agreement.

Reuters asked the Israeli prime minister to comment on his remarks, but Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond.

According to reports, after Netanyahu issued an ultimatum on the 11th, Hamas issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire and accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire.

On the 10th, Hamas announced the postponement of the release of detained persons originally scheduled for the 15th, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement. The Israeli Security Cabinet held a meeting on the 11th to discuss how to respond to Hamas’ decision.

On January 15, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The agreement came into effect on January 19. The first phase of the ceasefire lasted for 6 weeks, during which the two sides exchanged some of the other party’s detained personnel. On February 8, Hamas and Israel completed the exchange of the fifth batch of detained personnel.