JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that 'the gates of Hell would be opened' if Hamas does not release all the remaining hostages in its custody.
He said this at a joint news conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem Sunday.
'I want to assure everyone who is now listening to us: President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us. We have a common strategy and we can't always share the details of this strategy with the public, including when the gates of Hell would be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them,' Netanyahu told reporters.
His words echo a similar statement by President Donald Trump last week. He urged Israel to cancel its ceasefire deal with Hamas and 'let all hell break out' if Hamas does not release all the remaining hostages in its custody by the Saturday deadline.
As agreed, Hamas released three Israeli hostages from Gaza in exchange for 369 Palestinians held in Israel's jails. It included American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, who returned 'home and safe' with his family, Marco Rubio confirmed.
The exchange forms part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal between the two sides which came into effect on January 19.
Netanyahu said Israel is determined to achieve all the war objectives it set after Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He vowed to eliminate Hamas's military capability and its political rule in Gaza. 'We will bring all our hostages home and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. The unequivocal support of the United States on Gaza will help us achieve these objectives faster and set us on a path for a different future'.
Netanyahu added that Israel will act to prevent any threat emerging from near its border in southwest Syria.
Rubio, who is visiting Israel for the first time as Secretary of State, said Hamas must be eliminated. 'It must be eradicated'.
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