JERUSALEM: Israel鈥檚 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas on Monday of consequences it 鈥渃annot imagine鈥� if the Palestinian movement does not release the hostages held in Gaza.
鈥淚 tell Hamas: If you do not release our hostages, there will be consequences that you cannot imagine,鈥� Netanyahu said during a speech at the Israeli parliament, as negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire鈥檚 continuation have stalled.
Netanyahu鈥檚 comments came a day after Israel blocked aid flowing into Gaza, where a six-week truce had enabled a surge of vital food, shelter and medical assistance after more than 15 months of fighting.
The move came as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse, after the ceasefire鈥檚 42-day first phase drew to a close over the weekend.
Under the first phase, Gaza militants handed over 25 living hostages and eight bodies in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas鈥檚 October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Early on Sunday, Israel had announced its support for a truce extension until mid-April that it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed.
But Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favoring a transition to the truce deal鈥檚 second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.
Israeli media on Monday reported that Netanyahu had a plan to exert 鈥渕aximum pressure鈥� on Hamas to accept an extension of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire under Israel鈥檚 terms.
Public broadcaster Kan reported that Netanyahu wanted to extend the first stage by at least one week, until the arrival of US envoy Witkoff in the region.
Referencing sources close to Netanyahu, Kan reported that the prime minister was waiting to see if mediators could persuade Hamas to extend the first phase, failing which he would consider resuming fighting.
Kan said Israel has drafted plans to ramp up pressure on Hamas this week, under a scheme dubbed the 鈥淗ell Plan.鈥�
The plan includes following up the decision to block aid with displacing residents from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, halting the electricity supply, and a resumption of full-scale fighting, Kan reported.
Daily paper Israel Hayom said that Netanyahu, unlike his far-right allies in government, 鈥渨ants to exhaust all possibilities of freeing hostages before returning to war.鈥�