Israel Endorses Ceasefire Extension for Hostages, Threatens ‘Consequences’ If Hamas Refuses

March 3, 2025

by: Joshua Spurlock ~ Mideast Update

Monday, 3 March 2025 | Israel on Saturday announced it had accepted a framework endorsed by the United States to extend the Gaza ceasefire through mid-April in exchange for the release of more Israeli hostages held by Hamas. After the Gaza terrorist group declined to agree to the proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by halting the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza—and threatening more unspecified “consequences” to come.

“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages,” said a statement published and translated from Hebrew by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. “If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences.”

Netanyahu, in comments to the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday, explained the decision to halt the entrance of products into Gaza. “It must be emphasized: Hamas currently controls all of the supplies and goods that are being sent to the Gaza Strip,” said Netanyahu in comments published by Israel. “It is abusing the Gazan population that is trying to receive the aid, it is shooting at them, and is turning the humanitarian aid into a budget for terrorism directed against us. To this we will not agree in any way.”

After Israel made the announcements and stopped the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza, the Americans backed the Israeli response. According to the Times of Israel, White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said of Israel, “We will support their decision on next steps, given Hamas has indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire.”

The US has good reasons to back Israel’s decision on supplying Gaza—including that Gazans don’t need further support. Jonathan Conricus, former IDF spokesman and current Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, posted on Twitter (formerly X) that Gaza already has enough supplies to last months. “During 42 days of the ceasefire, more than 25,200 truck of goods entered the Gaza Strip, which should be enough to sustain the entire population for 4 months. Water is still provided through Israeli pipes, and while there may be discomfort—nobody in Gaza is starving. If they are, it’s due to Hamas thugs hoarding supplies or heartless vendors hiking prices.”

Noting that Hamas “appears to be misunderstanding” the support given to Israel by the Trump Administration, Conricus went on to say that “for Hamas to try to trigger international pressure on Israel by claiming ‘starvation’ is both false and misguided: this trick will not work again, and Israel will be able to apply pressure on Hamas like never before.”

According to press statements by Israel, the proposed ceasefire extension would see half of all the remaining living and dead hostages released by Hamas on the first day, with the remainder to be released by Hamas once an agreement is reached for a permanent ceasefire.  Netanyahu reiterated in the cabinet meeting the statements from his office on the extension, pointing to US envoy Steve Witkoff as proposing the plan. He also reissued the threat that if Hamas refuses to accept, the original ceasefire agreement allowed for a resumption of the war after the first ceasefire phase that ended on Saturday. However, he stopped short of saying that Israel was restarting the military conflict.

“According to the original agreement, Israel can return to fighting after the 42^nd day if it has gained the impression that the negotiations have been ineffective. This article is supported in a side letter of the previous US administration and has also received the full backing and support of the Trump administration,” said Netanyahu in Sunday’s cabinet meeting.

“But even so, we agreed to the Witkoff framework because we are committed to returning all of our hostages…If Hamas continues to stick to its position and does not release our hostages, there will be additional consequences, which I will not detail here.”

Netanyahu said that Witkoff “proposed the framework for extending the ceasefire after gaining the impression that there is no possibility, at present, of bridging between the two positions, Israel’s and Hamas’s, regarding the second stage and that additional time for talks was necessary in order to achieve a possible agreement.”

“He even defined his proposal as a corridor for negotiations on the second [ceasefire] stage. Israel is ready for this.”

While Israel was noncommittal on resuming the war soon if Hamas fails to change course, Conricus in his post said he expects that to occur.

Said Conricus: “If Hamas continues to refuse US and Israeli offers to return Israeli hostages for a continued cease fire and goods, the outcome will be the return to fighting, but a totally different type of fighting. Ball is in Hamas/Egypt/Qatar’s court.”

Conricus bases this partly on the support the US is giving Israel, which was underscored on Saturday when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced emergency action to expedite of US $4 billion in weapons to Israel.

“The decision to reverse the Biden Administration’s partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President [Donald] Trump,” Rubio said in a State Department press release. “…The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.”

Netanyahu, in additional comments on Sunday, underscored the support from President Trump and what it meant for Israel’s response to Hamas’s failure to extend the ceasefire. “We will take further steps if Hamas continues to hold our hostages. And throughout this, Israel knows that America and President Trump have our back,” he said.

In the meantime, there remain hostages to be freed. Israeli intelligence indicates that of the 59 hostages still held by Hamas, as many as 24 are alive, but at least 35 are deceased.

“We are not giving up on anyone and we are determined to bring them all back home… Again—we demand the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” said Netanyahu in Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “We are committed to this. I am committed to this. And with G-d’s help, we will neither stop nor be silent until we achieve it.”

Posted on March 3, 2025

Source: (This article was originally published by the Mideast Update on March 2, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today.)

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