Hamas has suspended the release of hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip. The hostages were to be released this weekend, but Hamas has accused the Israeli government of breaking the ceasefire.

By not releasing hostages, Hamas is threatening to fully break the 6-week ceasefire that was agreed upon last month. If the ceasefire goes well, this could potentially be the end of the war. This conflict has been going on since October 7th, 2023. It has been 494 days of terror for the innocent people involved.

On Feb. 10th, Donald Trump publicly stated that it was imperative that Hamas have all hostages released by 12 o’clock on Saturday or “all hell with break out” and the ceasefire will be officially canceled. “Israel can override it, but from myself, Saturday at 12 o’clock, and if they’re not, they’re not here, all hell is going to break out.”

Reporters asked President Trump if he was insinuating retaliation from Israel, he said “You’ll find out, and they’ll find out too.” President Trump also dodged a question about U.S. involvement in the conflict and answered with “We’ll see.”

Hamas and Israel have both accused each other of breaking ceasefire rules many times, but they have both consistently let out their hostages as they were supposed to up until this point. The ceasefire was made official on January 19th, 2025, and has been set to last for 6 weeks.

Hamas released a statement saying that they would not be releasing the hostages shortly after President Trump said that the Palestinian people would not be allowed to return to their homeland, as he plans to relocate their entire population. Trump stated that these citizens would not have the right to go back to their homes even after the reconstruction had happened. Hamas has rejected this idea, along with many others.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said that these new demands are “not acceptable” and that “we have an agreement to implement.” Qasem also told a TV outlet “We are open to ideas regarding a new form of Palestinian government and administration of Gaza, but not the deportation.”

Although the release of the hostages is on hold, it is possible that mediators from Qatar and Egypt can meet and help Hamas and Israel come to an agreement. This has worked before and hopefully, there can be a compromise and the hostages can be released safely and on time.