Tuesday Briefing

Pictures of hostages held in Gaza at a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday.Credit…Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Hamas postponed the release of more hostages

Hamas has indefinitely delayed the release of Israeli hostages who were set to be freed this weekend, a spokesman for the militants said. The move threatens to derail the six-week truce in Gaza that began last month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel planned to meet with his security cabinet this morning, a top official said.

President Trump said the cease-fire agreement should be canceled if Hamas didn’t release all remaining Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday — in which case, he said, “all hell is going to break out.” But he acknowledged that the choice was Israel’s to make.

Both Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the agreement. In Israel, the gaunt condition of some hostages, and their humiliating handovers, provoked widespread anger. Hamas says Israel has delayed the return of displaced Palestinians, blocked the delivery of some humanitarian aid and opened fire on civilians.

Context: Hamas’s statement about the hostages came after Fox News published a clip in which Trump said Palestinians would not be allowed to return to Gaza under his plan to move them out and develop the strip. Trump said he could cut aid to Jordan and Egypt if they refused to permanently take in most Gazans.

Next steps: A key point of tension between Israel and Hamas is the second phase of the cease-fire deal, which calls for a permanent end to the fighting, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of more hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has suggested that he won’t pursue the second phase if it means an end to the war.

News from the region:

• Some Israeli hostages still in Gaza face starvation and torture, family members say they were told by security and military officials.

• Gaza is littered with unexploded munitions, but the Trump administration has issued a stop-work order to nonprofits that would normally clear the area.

• The Israeli police raided two Palestinian bookstores in East Jerusalem and detained their owners, saying they had sold books that supported terrorism.

• The U.N. is suspending all humanitarian operations in a large Houthi-controlled area of northern Yemen in response to the arbitrary detention of its workers.