Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson confirmed that a meeting will be held at noon Eastern Time on Saturday to discuss the next steps in the ceasefire agreement, coinciding with President Trump’s deadline for Hamas.
In a statement, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that Israel is fully preparing for all eventualities, according to TPS-IL.
Earlier on Saturday, Hamas released three more hostages, including American citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen. The terrorist group nearly indefinitely delayed their release due to alleged Israeli ceasefire violations.
Trump declared on Monday that if Hamas failed to return all remaining hostages by noon, Israel should terminate the ceasefire.
“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump stated in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.”
The ambiguity surrounding Trump’s reference to 12 p.m. Eastern or Israeli time was clarified by the timing of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s meeting, suggesting Israel interpreted the deadline as noon Eastern Time (7 p.m. local time).
Hamas announced on Thursday its intention to release hostages on Saturday as scheduled, subsequently naming Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov, who were released alongside Dekel-Chen. All three were captured during Hamas’ October 7th attacks.
While Trump proposed the deadline, he later posted on Truth Social that the United States would support any Israeli decision regarding further actions.
“Hamas has just released three Hostages from GAZA, including an American Citizen. They seem to be in good shape! This differs from their statement last week that they would not release any Hostages,” Trump wrote. “Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!”
Last week, Trump expressed strong disapproval of the condition of the hostages released by Hamas, describing them as frail and gaunt. He remarked that they “looked like Holocaust survivors” and “like they haven’t had a meal in a month.”
Israel and Hamas are currently observing a ceasefire agreement that commenced on January 19th. This six-week agreement involves the phased release of 33 hostages by Hamas in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.