Following an urgent security cabinet meeting, the Israeli government has declared that it backs President Trump's latest threat warning Hamas that "all hell" will break loose if Hamas doesn't release all hostages from Gaza by Saturday.
"All cabinet members expressed support for US President Donald Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by noon on Shabbat, and for his revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza," the Netanyahu cabinet statement said.
This unanimous declaration includes backing Trump's vision for taking over Gaza and relocating all Palestinians to neighboring Arab countries, which the UN and a number of nations' leaders have condemned as ethnic cleansing.
On Monday night, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to reinforce its positions in the Gaza Strip and along the borders in readiness for "all scenarios" in the event Hamas refuses to release the hostages Saturday.
Trump's statement had demanded a full release by noon. However, Israel is unlikely to completely break the ceasefire if Hamas still frees the three captives originally scheduled for release. This would mark the sixth round of hostage release under the current 42-day first phase of the truce deal.
One regional Arab pundit, Omar Rahman, a fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, has said all of this is a 'win' for Netanyahu, who has proven an effective manipulator of foreign leaders and public opinion:
"Netanyahu allowed the release of some hostages, and then went to Washington to talk to Trump himself, and he got Trump to agree to the terms. His war goals are the destruction of Gaza, the displacement of the population and the elimination of Hamas," he said.
Hamas has meanwhile reiterated that the only way to get the hostages home is for Israel to respect the ceasefire it has signed. The group further shrugged off Trump's unleashing hell comments as having "no value" - saying it won't respond to such threats.
But the ceasefire is certainly on the brink of crumbling at this point, and Trump's repeat statements about a Gaza 'takeover' by the US, in order to turn it into the "Riviera of the Mediterranean" - is certainly complicating matters, to say the least. He also rejected a Palestinian 'right of return'.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has estimated it will require more than $53 billion to rebuild Gaza and end the "humanitarian catastrophe" there. At least $20 billion would be needed in the first three years of rebuilding, the UN statement said. Videos have shown the IDF continuing to destroy sectors of the Gaza Strip, despite the ceasefire:
Fresh footage shows Israeli road-ripping bulldozers causing absolute DESTRUCTION to Jenin Refugee Camp infrastructure
— RT (@RT_com) February 11, 2025
Did somebody whisper ceasefire? https://t.co/grxpQ6jMeM pic.twitter.com/BRoFHpBgnI
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a new statement assessing damage costs, "While it has not been possible in the current environment to fully assess the totality of needs that will be required in Gaza, the interim assessment offers an early indication of the enormous scale of recovery and reconstruction needs in the Gaza Strip."
