Trump warns ‘all hell’ will break loose if Gaza hostages aren’t returned

But as I said before, if they don’t return all of the hostages by 12 o’clock [February 15] — and I think that’s an appropriate time — then I would say, cancel it, and all bets are off and let hell break out, U.S. President Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Monday (February 10, 2025) that “all hell” will break loose if all Israeli hostages are not released from Gazas within days after Hamas threatened to delay further exchanges of prisoners under a fragile ceasefire agreement it accused Israel of violating.

The cease-fire, which went into effect Jan. 19, largely ended more than 15 months of warfare in the Gaza Strip and witnessed the release of five groups of Israeli hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel.

But tensions have escalated since an extraordinary proposal by Mr. Trump to seize control of the Gaza Strip and expel its more than two million residents.

Mr. Trump said on Monday that he would demand the cease-fire end unless all Israeli hostage were released by noon on Saturday.

“But so far as I’m concerned if by Saturday at 12 o’clock, which is a long time from now, all of the hostages aren’t back, then I would say cancellations and all bets are off and we’ll see you at the party,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.

The ceasefire agreement states that staggered releases should occur throughout the current 42-day first phase of the deal.

A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in an earlier Monday (February 10) statement that the next hostage release, “which was scheduled for next Saturday, February 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice”.

The spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said the return of hostage-prisoner exchanges would be “pending the (Israeli) occupation’s compliance and retroactive fulfilment of the past weeks’ obligations”.

The group alleges that Israel has not met its obligations under the truce in a timely fashion and that it has breached the ceasefire both in regards to humanitarian assistance and following the killing of three Gazans on Sunday.

In a subsequent statement, Hamas said it had “intentionally” made the announcement five days ahead of the next exchange so that mediators would have enough time to pressure Israel “to fulfill its obligations. The option is still open for the batch of the prisoner exchange to go ahead as scheduled, when the occupation would commit to that.”