🔒 Trump urges Israel to scrap ceasefire if hostages aren’t freed by weekend

Key topics:

Trump says Israel should cancel ceasefire if hostages aren’t released.
Hamas delays hostage release, accuses Israel of ceasefire violations.
Trump proposes Gaza takeover, suggests relocating Palestinians.

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By Jenny Leonard and Nick Wadhams ___STEADY_PAYWALL___

US President Donald Trump said Israel should call off its ceasefire with Hamas if hostages aren’t returned this weekend, raising concerns over the durability of the six-week truce in Gaza.

“If all the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock — I think it’s an appropriate time — I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said.

The president spoke hours after Hamas announced it was indefinitely postponing the next release of Israeli hostages that was set to happen this weekend.

The Iran-backed group accused Israel of delaying the return of Gazans to the north of the war-ravaged territory, opening fire in different parts of the strip and denying the entry of aid supplies.

Israel said Hamas’s announcement amounted to a violation of the ceasefire and the country’s military was placed on high alert. The shekel fell, weakening 0.5% against the dollar on Monday, it’s biggest drop since late January.

Hours later Hamas softened its stance, saying in a statement that it wanted to “grant mediators sufficient time to pressure” Israel into complying so that the next prisoner exchange could go ahead as planned.

The six-week truce was agreed last month and is set to end in early March. During that time, Hamas agreed to release 33 of the roughly 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, while Israel said it would free around 2,000 Palestinians from Israeli jails.

Three hostages and around 180 prisoners were freed on Saturday, the most recent exchange. There are 17 captives still to be released from Gaza under the current phase of the ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas have just started low-level talks about a second stage, which is meant to lead to a permanent end to hostilities. Talks are being mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt.

Hamas is an Iran-backed group and designated a terrorist organization by the US and many other countries.

Trump also said he would consider cutting off foreign aid to Jordan and Egypt if they did not agree with his plan to take Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip so that the US could undertake a massive redevelopment of the war-torn area.

“I would conceivably” cut off aid “if they don’t agree,” Trump said.

In an interview with Fox News that aired Monday, Trump indicated Palestinians might not have the right to return to the Gaza Strip under his plan to take control and rebuild the territory.

“No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier, when asked if Palestinians would have the right to return. “In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it’ll be years before you could ever – it’s not habitable.”

Trump originally floated the idea of taking over the Gaza Strip in a news conference after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.

Aides sought to downplay his plan, insisting Trump wasn’t committing US troops to the region or promising American money for Gaza’s reconstruction. Others have described it as a way of pressuring countries, including Jordan and Egypt, to take in Palestinians. But Trump has reiterated his plan several times since then.

“We’ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,” Trump said in the Fox News interview. “In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future.” He didn’t clarify whether he meant he would own Gaza in his role as US president or as a real estate developer.

Later Monday, Trump said he had spoken to many Palestinians who would “love to leave Gaza if they could find a place to be.”

Trump’s Gaza plans are expected to be among the topics when Jordan’s King Abdullah II holds a scheduled meeting with him in Washington on Tuesday.

“I’ve spoken to various leaders of various countries in the not so distant area from where we’re talking about the Gaza Strip. And I think they were very positive about providing land,” Trump said.

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