Israel PM issues threat to Hamas over hostages as Gaza talks at an impasse
As Arab leaders prepared for summit in Cairo, Netanyahu warned Hamas would face ‘unimaginable consequences’ if it did not return hostages
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Hamas on Monday with unimaginable consequences if it did not return hostages held in Gaza, while the Palestinian group accused his government of sabotaging the fragile truce there.
The first phase of the ceasefire ended over the weekend, but talks on its future have hit an impasse after six weeks of relative calm in Gaza that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and an influx of badly needed aid.
The dispute came as Arab leaders prepared for a summit in Cairo on Tuesday to hash out a plan for Gaza’s reconstruction to counter a widely condemned proposal from US President Donald Trump that would involve the displacement of its Palestinian population.
While Israel announced early on Sunday it backed an extension of the first phase of the truce until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.
Netanyahu, speaking on Monday in the Israeli parliament, warned Hamas “there will be consequences that you cannot imagine” if the dozens of hostages still held by militants were not released.
Defence Minister Israel Katz later struck a similar tone, saying if the group did not free the hostages, “the gates of Gaza will be locked, and the gates of hell will open”.