By Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal | March 03, 2025
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says “the gates of hell will open” against Hamas if the remaining hostages still in Gaza are not released soon. “We will return to fighting and [Hamas] will face the [Israel Defense Forces] with strength and methods that it has not known, until [Hamas] is totally defeated,” Katz said while speaking at an event in Jerusalem on Monday, according to The Times of Israel.
“We will not allow Hamas to rule in Gaza,” he added.
Katz’s comments come after the initial six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came to an end over the weekend. Despite some challenges along the way, phase one of the ceasefire went largely as planned and included the release of more than 30 hostages from Gaza, including Israeli American citizens Keith Siegel, 65, and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36.
Hamas and Israel have not reached an agreement on the details of phase two of the ceasefire, but Israel has presented Hamas with a deal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through the end of Ramadan on March 29, and Passover, which ends April 19.
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff provided Israel with the framework for the deal to extend the current ceasefire, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The extension would include the release of about half the hostages remaining in Gaza upon Hamas’ agreeing to the plan. The remaining hostages would be released when the agreement concludes, providing a permanent ceasefire has been reached, The Times of Israel reported.
There are 59 hostages still in Gaza, at least 35 of whom are dead, according to the IDF.
Hamas has not yet agreed to extend the ceasefire and release the remaining hostages, and until it does so, Israel has stopped the delivery of all humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Sunday. “If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences.”
Just one day after the initial first phase of the ceasefire ended, a stabbing attack took one life and left four others wounded in Haifa, Israel. Hamas praised the attack, but did not claim responsibility.
Katz’s threat to open “the gates of hell” against Hamas if the hostages are not soon released echoes President Donald Trump’s repeated warning that there will be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if the hostages are not set free.
The Trump administration has taken multiple actions to demonstrate its clear support for Israel, including on Saturday when Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he had “signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel.”
Rubio’s announcement is a sea change from the partial arms embargo on Israel set in place under the Biden administration.
The Biden administration embargo “wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel,” Rubio said, adding that “Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump.”
Virginia Allen is a senior news producer for The Daily Signal and host of "The Daily Signal Podcast" and "Problematic Women."
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