Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that the Gaza cease-fire deal would end if Hamas did not release captives by noon on Saturday.
"If Hamas does not return our hostages by noon on Saturday, the cease-fire will be terminated, and the Israeli army will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated," Netanyahu said in a video statement after a four-hour security Cabinet meeting.
He said that he instructed the army "to mobilize forces inside and around the Gaza Strip."
The threat came one day after Hamas said that it would delay the next hostage release in response to Israeli violations of the cease-fire agreement.
Local Palestinian authorities have listed a series of Israeli violations of the deal, including the shooting of civilians and denying access to relief materials, including tents and caravans for displaced civilians in Gaza.
Hamas has begun releasing some hostages gradually under the first phase of a cease-fire reached last month but said on Monday it would not free any more until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the terms with several deadly shootings as well as hold-ups of some aid deliveries in Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump, a close ally of Israel, said in response that Hamas should release all the hostages held by the Palestinian group by midday on Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas cease-fire, which took effect on Jan. 19.
It was not immediately clear if Netanyahu meant Hamas should release all hostages that are held in Gaza or just those that had been expected to be released on Saturday under the cease-fire.
His office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment on the prime minister's remarks.
A Hamas official said on Tuesday that Israeli hostages could be brought home only if the cease-fire was respected, dismissing the "language of threats" after Trump said he would "let hell break out" if they were not freed.
"Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the (Israeli) prisoners. The language of threats has no value and only complicates matters," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Israel denies holding back aid supplies and says it has fired on people who disregard warnings not to approach Israeli troop positions.
So far, 16 of the 33 hostages to be freed in the first 42-day phase of the cease-fire deal have come home, as well as five Thai hostages who were returned in an unscheduled release.
In exchange, Israel has released hundreds of Palestinians, including prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks and Palestinians detained during the war and held without charge.
A group representing families of hostages urged Netanyahu to stick to the cease-fire agreement.
"We must not go backwards. We cannot allow the hostages to waste away in captivity," the hostages forum said in a statement.
There are 76 hostages still in Gaza, more than 35 of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli media.
