Benjamin Netanyahu issues warning ahead of Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is ready to resume the war against Hamas should talks for a second phase of the ceasefire fail.

In a televised speech just hours before it was due to start on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed that the ceasefire was “temporary” and Israel reserved the right to resume strikes in Gaza – and had the backing of US President-elect Donald Trump to do so.

Netanyahu also outlined what he called the success of Israel’s military campaign over the last 15 months – including the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“We changed the face of the Middle East,” Netanyahu said, before adding that Hamas was now “completely alone”.

The ceasefire is due to come into force at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT).

Prior to Saturday’s speech, Netanyahu said Israel would not implement the deal until it received the list of hostages to be released by Hamas.

“Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement,” he said.

A longer list of the 33 hostages due to be freed by Hamas has already been published by Israeli media but not confirmed by officials.

But Israeli authorities say they have yet to receive the names of the three hostages due to be released on Sunday.

Meanwhile Israel has continued air strikes on what they say are Hamas and Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza – more than 120 people have been killed since the deal was announced on Wednesday, Hamas officials say.

Over the next few weeks, the 33 hostages are set to be released in exchange for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Under terms of the agreement, Israel will also begin pulling back its forces from Gaza.

The location at which the first hostages will be handed over is unclear. A senior Israeli military official said three reception points had been prepared near the border in northern, central, and southern Gaza.

Previously, a source close to Hamas told the AFP news agency that the first three hostages to be released would be women.

Talks about the terms of the second phase of the ceasefire are set to start on Day 16 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 expectation is that remaining hostages, including men, would be freed at this stage as more Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli prisons are released.

There would also be a full 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 northern Gaza

The third and final stage will involve the reconstruction of Gaza – something which could take many years – and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.

On Friday night, Israel’s government approved the ceasefire and hostage release deal after hours of discussions.

Two far-right cabinet ministers voted against it, 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 relatives will be abandoned in Gaza after the first phase is done.

On Saturday evening, thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv to demand the government ensures the release of further hostages by abiding by the first phase of the ceasefire.

Gal Alkalay, a member of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told Reuters news agency: “We could have saved the lives of 200 soldiers and more than 10 hostages.” She added that people had died unnecessarily because the government “couldn’t take a decision and waited for Trump”.

Earlier on Saturday, several people were wounded in a stabbing attack near a restaurant In Tel Aviv, Israeli police said. The attacker was reportedly shot and killed at the scene by a civilian.

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 the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday night.

The Palestinian health ministry said 123 people – including dozens of women and children – have been killed in strikes since then.

On Saturday, Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence rescue agency said at least five members of one family were killed when a strike hit their tent in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, AFP reports.

Since Thursday afternoon, the Israeli military said it had struck 100 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters who were among several “terror targets” hit across Gaza, according to the Reuters news agency.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Around 46,899 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Most of the 2.3 million population has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to a struggle to get aid to those in need.