‘All hell to break loose’: Trump threatens end to Gaza ceasefire if captives are not released

US President Donald Trump has issued a so-called ultimatum, saying if all the Zionist captives held by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Gaza were not released by Saturday at noon, he would propose canceling the ceasefire and “let all hell break loose.”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office late Monday, Trump also suggested that the United States might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt unless they agreed to take in displaced Palestinians from Gaza, a move widely condemned as an attempt at forced displacement.

The ceasefire was initiated last month between the Israeli regime and Hamas in the hope of ending a ferocious war of genocide by the regime that had claimed the lives of at least 17,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Ever since its onset, the deal has witnessed numerous Israeli violations that have claimed the lives of hundreds more Palestinians.

The agreement has mandated phased release of the Zionist captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Earlier on Monday, Hamas announced that it was suspending the process, citing Israeli violations of the agreement. In response, Tel Aviv ordered the military to prepare for “any scenario in Gaza.”

Trump, meanwhile, called “Saturday 12 o’clock” an appropriate time for the release of all the captives, saying if the release did not take place, “I would say cancel it (the ceasefire deal).”

“All bets are off and let hell break out” in case the captives were not handed over, he reiterated.

The US president also rejected gradual exchange of the captives. “We want them all back. Not in dribs and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two,” he said.

When asked about specific measures the US would take to enforce his demand, Trump responded, “You’ll find out. And they’ll find out too. Hamas will find out what I mean.”

“These are sick people,” he added, referring to the movement’s members, despite their having treated the captives humanely and provided them with all necessary foodstuffs and medical attention by the captives’ own admission.

Trump, meanwhile, threated that the US would cut off its aid to Jordan and Egypt if they did not take in Gaza’s Palestinians.

“I would conceivably withhold it [the US aid],” he said. His administration has pushed for the mass displacement of Gaza’s entire two-million-plus Palestinians, a plan denounced by many regional and global states and legal experts as ethnic cleansing.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has rejected any arrangement that undermined Palestinian rights, while Egyptian officials expressed concern that the ceasefire talks could collapse if Washington did not clarify its position.

The Israeli regime has called an emergency “security cabinet” meeting, with reports indicating that it has canceled leave for troops stationed in Gaza.

Growing backlash against US, Israeli policies

Trump’s interference comes amid increasing scrutiny of US support for the Israeli regime’s military atrocities.

Last year, former British diplomat Mark Smith resigned over the UK’s “complicity” in war crimes in Gaza, criticizing the British government for continuing arms sales to the regime, despite widespread civilian casualties.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that accounts of genocide in Gaza were an “arguable case,” adding to international pressure on Western nations supplying weapons to Tel Aviv.

Within the occupied Palestinian territories, the issue of the captives has intensified frustration among the regime’s settlers. Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked streets on Monday night, condemning Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for jeopardizing the deal.

“Netanyahu’s deliberate procrastination and provocative statements disrupted the implementation of the agreement,” said Einav Zangauker, the mother of one of the captives.

Despite Trump’s comments, Hamas indicated that negotiations could still continue if the regime abided by its commitments. “The door remains open for the [captive/]prisoner exchange batch to proceed as planned, once the occupation complies,” the group said in a statement.

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