Hamas brushes off Trump's words

Hamas, Feb. 12: Hamas has brushed off President Donald Trump's threat that "all hell" will break out if it does not release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Saturday.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that the dozens of hostages would only be returned if all parties remain committed to a ceasefire deal reached last month.

"Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties," he said, adding that threatening language only complicates matters.

Hamas has threatened to delay the next release of three Israeli hostages, due Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, including by not allowing a surge of tents and shelters into the devastated territory.

While Trump said the ceasefire should be canceled if Hamas doesn't release all the remaining hostages Saturday, he also said such a decision would be up to Israel.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas has committed to freeing a total of 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for Israel releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The sides have carried out five swaps since Jan. 19, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners so far. The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce.

An Israeli man who was thought to be alive and in Hamas captivity was killed during the 2023 attack and his body taken to Gaza, the military said Tuesday.

Shlomo Mantzur was thought to be the oldest hostage held by the militant group in Gaza and because of his age became a symbol in Israel of the brutality of Hamas' hostage-taking tactic.

He was 85 at the time of the attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The military said the determination of Mantzur's death was based on intelligence gathered in recent months.

News of Mantzur's death comes as Israelis have been outraged over the poor condition of hostages who are being freed under the ceasefire with Hamas. On Tuesday, protesters briefly blocked a main highway calling for more hostages to be freed.

That anger is putting heavy pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire, what would allow for more hostages to be freed. More than 70 hostages, nearly half of them said by Israel to be dead, are still held captive in Gaza. Kibbutz Kissufim, where Mantzur was from, said he was "a father, a grandfather, a true friend and the beating heart" of the community.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim criticized Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip as colonization as the ceasefire with Hamas seemed to falter.

"This is a colonization, a project of colonization," he said at a news conference Tuesday with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "How much negotiations can you have when the colonizer has not withdrawn?"

Israel and Hamas are halfway through the six-week first phase of their ceasefire, but Hamas has threatened to delay the next release of hostages because it accused Israel of continuing airstrikes and hindering humanitarian aid and the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza.

Predominantly Muslim Malaysia is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and has pushed for a two-state solution. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state.

"This is also an issue of politics of dispossession. When you rob people's land, people's houses, people's property… therefore there are two issues here we have to resolve. One of course immediate humanitarian assistance, but also a long term just amicable resolution to the problem," Anwar said. (AP)