Israel reserves the right to continue the war against Hamas at any time, with US support, under the terms of a cease-fire agreement that is due to take effect on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night.
In his first address to the nation since the ceasefire was agreed, he said that Israel reserves the right to continue the fight against Hamas “if necessary”, that is, if further negotiations fail.
“As I promised you, we changed the face of the Middle East and as a result, Hamas was left defeated and alone,” he stressed.
He also promised to return all hostages held in Gaza.
He said 33 “brothers and sisters will return home,” most of them still alive, because of “our (Israeli) steadfast stance.”
Egypt, one of the mediators in the truce, said on Saturday that Israel would release 1,890 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Netanyahu also said that the ceasefire agreement was reached thanks to the help of US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
The Israeli prime minister had previously said that Israel would not continue with the ceasefire process until it received a list of 33 hostages that Hamas should release in the first phase of the agreement.
“We will not move forward with the agreement until we receive a list of the hostages who will be released, as agreed. Israel will not tolerate any violation of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
Under the ceasefire agreement, the names should be delivered at least 24 hours before the time of the exchange, which was 4:00 p.m. local time, or 3:00 p.m. CET on Saturday.
According to Israeli sources, the Palestinian group Hamas has not yet given the names of the three hostages who are due to be released on Sunday.
The six-week The ceasefire is set to come into effect on Sunday, when the first in a series of exchanges will take place.
