Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is ready to continue the war against Hamas if negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire fail.
In a televised speech just hours before it was due to begin on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed that the ceasefire was “temporary” and that Israel reserved the right to continue strikes in Gaza – and that he had the support of US President-elect Donald Trump to do so.
Netanyahu also described what he called the success of Israel’s military campaign over the past 15 months – including the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
“We have changed the face of the Middle East,” Netanyahu said, before adding that Hamas was now “all alone.”
The ceasefire is scheduled to take effect at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT).
Before speaking on Saturday, Netanyahu said Israel would not implement the deal until it received a list of hostages to be released by Hamas.
“Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement,” he said.
A longer list of 33 hostages to be released by Hamas has already been published by Israeli media, but officials have not confirmed it.
But Israeli authorities say they have yet to receive the names of the three hostages who are due to be released on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued airstrikes on what it says are Hamas and Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza – more than 120 people have been killed since the deal was announced on Wednesday, Hamas officials said.
Over the next few weeks, 33 hostages will be released in exchange for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel will also begin withdrawing its forces from Gaza.
It is unclear where the first hostages will be handed over. A senior Israeli military official said three reception points had been prepared near the border in northern, central and southern Gaza.
Earlier, a source close to Hamas told the AFP news agency that the first three hostages to be freed would be women.
Talks on the terms of the second phase of the ceasefire are due to begin on the 16th day of the first phase and will focus on achieving a “permanent end to the war”.
Details of the second phase of the deal are still uncertain, but the remaining hostages, including men, are expected to be freed in this phase as more Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons are released.
There would also be a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. It is also understood that Hamas police – who will be unarmed unless absolutely necessary – will manage the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip
The third and final phase will involve the reconstruction of Gaza – something that could take many years – and the return of any remaining bodies of the hostages.
On Friday night, The Israeli government approved a cease-fire and an agreement to release the hostages after hours of discussions.
Two far-right ministers voted against, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The drawn-out structure of the agreement is also causing anxiety and division among the families of the hostages. Some fear that relatives will be abandoned in Gaza after the end of the first phase.
On Saturday night, thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that the government secure the release of further hostages by respecting the first phase of the ceasefire.
Gal Alkalay, a member of the Forum of Hostages and Missing Families, told the Reuters news agency: “We could have saved the lives of 200 soldiers and more than 10 hostages.” She added that people died unnecessarily because the government “couldn’t make a decision and was waiting for Trump.”
Earlier on Saturday, several people were wounded in a knife attack near a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israeli police said. The attacker was reportedly shot by a civilian at the scene.
The suspect came to Tel Aviv “illegally” from Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media said.
There has been no respite for Palestinians on the ground in Gaza since a ceasefire agreement was announced on Wednesday night.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said 123 people – including dozens of women and children – have been killed in the attacks since then.
On Saturday, the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense Agency said at least five members of a family were killed when a strike hit their tent in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, AFP reports.
As of Thursday afternoon, Israel’s military said it had hit 100 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters who were among several “terrorist targets” struck across Gaza, according to the Reuters news agency.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. .
Since then, some 46,899 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there. Most of the 2.3 million population have also been displaced, destruction is widespread and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as the struggle to help those in need.
