Netanyahu Warns Israel's 'Right To Resume' War In Gaza If Hamas Doesn't Fulfil This Condition
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to resume strikes in Gaza against Hamas ahead of ceasefire implementation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned to resume strikes in Gaza against Hamas should talks for a second phase of the ceasefire fail.
Hours ahead of the ceasefire which is supposed to come into effect on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed that the truce was "temporary" and Israel reserved the right to resume strikes in Gaza, adding it has the backing of US President-elect Donald Trump to do so.
He also outlined what he called the success of Israel's military campaign over the last 15 months, including the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
"We changed the face of the Middle East," Netanyahu said in a televised speech, adding that Hamas was now "completely alone."
The ceasefire is scheduled to come into effect at 8:30 local time.
Ahead of the Saturday speech, Netanyahu warned Israel would not implement the deal until it received the list of hostages to be released by Hamas. "Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement," he said.
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The Israeli media has already published a longer list of 33 hostages due to be freed by Hamas but the same has not been confirmed by officials.
Israeli authorities say they have yet to receive the names of three hostages due to be released on Sunday. Meanwhile, Israel has continued to launch air strikes on what is said were Hamas and Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza.
Over 120 people have been killed since the deal was announced on Wednesday, the Hamas officials say.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas will release 33 hostages in exchange for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Under the deal, Israel will also start pulling back its forces from Gaza.
The location where the first batch of hostages will be handed over is not yet known. According to a senior Israeli military official, three reception points have been prepared near the border in northern, central, and southern Gaza, reported BBC.
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