Netanyahu threatens to resume fighting in Gaza if hostages aren't released Saturday

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire in Gaza and directed troops to prepare to resume fighting Hamas if the militant group does not r elease more hostages on Saturday.

Hamas said Monday — and reiterated Tuesday — that it planned to delay the release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of failing to meet the terms of the ceasefire, including by not allowing an agreed-upon number of tents and other aid into Gaza.

Amid the mounting tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump emboldened Israel to call for the release of even more remaining hostages on Saturday.

After meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, Trump predicted Hamas would not release all the remaining hostages as he had demanded.

“I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline, personally,” the president said of Hamas. “They want to play tough guy. We’ll see how tough they are.”

Since the ceasefire took effect, Hamas has released 21 hostages in a series of five exchanges for more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. A second phase calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce. However, Trump’s statements about both the pending releases and plans for post-war Gaza have destabilized its fragile architecture.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Netanyahu’s threat referred to the three hostages scheduled for release on Saturday or all the remaining hostages, which would be a departure from the terms of the ceasefire. Netanyahu’s office said it “welcomed President Trump’s demand.”

As Trump spoke to reporters in Washington and reasserted his demands, an Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, said Israel was “sticking to Trump’s announcement regarding the release of the hostages. Namely, that they will all be released on Saturday.”

Netanyahu’s office also said it ordered the military to mobilize troops on and around the Gaza Strip in preparation for scenarios that could arise.

Trump has said Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire if all of the roughly 70 hostages aren’t freed by Saturday. Hamas brushed off his threat Tuesday, doubling down on its claim that Israel has violated the ceasefire and warned that it would only continue releasing hostages if all parties adhered to the ceasefire.

“Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties. This is the only way to bring back prisoners,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday. “The language of threats has no value; it only complicates matters.”

The group later condemned Trump's White House remarks, saying they amounted to a “call for ethnic cleansing” and accusing Trump of seeking to “liquidate the Palestinian cause and deny the national rights of the Palestinian people.”

It said in a statement it remained committed to the ceasefire, yet did not address its plans to suspend the hostages releases outlined in the first phase of the agreement.

Trump hosted King Abdullah II in Washington as he escalates pressure on Jordan to take in refugees from Gaza, perhaps permanently, as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.

“We’re not going to buy anything. We’re going to have it,” Trump said of U.S. control of Gaza as the Jordanian king stood by.

Abdullah II was asked repeatedly by reporters about Trump’s plan to remake the Middle East, but didn’t make substantive comments. He also did not comment on the idea that a large number of refugees from Gaza could be welcomed in Jordan, where millions of Palestinian refugees already reside.

The king said, however, that Jordan would be willing “right away” to take as many as 2,000 children in Gaza who have cancer or are otherwise ill.

Last week, the top World Health Organization official for Gaza said between 12,000 and 14,000 patients still need medical evacuation from the territory — including 5,000 children.

Palestinians and the international community have seethed over Trump's recent comments that any Palestinians potentially expelled from Gaza would not have a right to return.

During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas committed to freeing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, while Israel said it would release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The sides have carried out five swaps since Jan. 19.

The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase of the ceasefire. But if it does, Israel will face a drastically different battlefield. After forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza in the early stages of the war, Israel allowed many of those displaced people to return to what is left of their homes, posing a new challenge to its ability to move ground troops through the territory.

Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington and Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed to this report.

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians sit in their partially standing homes, covered with sheets as makeshift walls, in an area largely destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A Palestinian family cooks on fire next to their tent, in an area largely destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A Palestinian man wearing a red shirt, left, stands amidst the rubble of destroyed buildings, watching Israeli soldiers, bottom right, take position in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Displaced Palestinians, traveling in vehicles, wait in line to pass through a security checkpoint at the Netzarim corridor as they make their way from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives and supporters of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip protest outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. after Hamas announced it would delay a planned hostage release after accusing Israel of violating a fragile ceasefire. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip block a highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv a day after the militant group announced it would delay a planned hostage release after accusing Israel of violating a fragile ceasefire. Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Displaced Palestinians make their way from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A supporter of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip holds a sign during a protest on a highway after the militant group announced it would delay a planned hostage release after accusing Israel of violating a fragile ceasefire. in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Relatives and supporters of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip protest outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. after Hamas announced it would delay a planned hostage release after accusing Israel of violating a fragile ceasefire. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Displaced Palestinians make their way from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli soldiers gather by the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Tuesday, Feb.11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Michael Olise scored twice as Bayern Munich started the new year by routing Wolfsburg 8-1 with six second-half goals to move 11 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

Olise, Harry Kane and Luis Díaz picked apart the Wolfsburg defense on Sunday in a display of dominance which leaves Bayern firmly on course to defend the title in only the 16th game of the 34-game season.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany was pleased his players didn't let up.

“It’s these moments where it’s five, six, 7-1, and they keep running, they keep pressing and keep trying to score goals," he told broadcaster DAZN. "I have to say, I like that.”

In freezing temperatures for Bayern's first game since the winter break, Olise got a brace and Kane and Díaz one apiece, along with goals for substitutes Raphael Guerreiro and Leon Goretzka, and two Wolfsburg own-goals.

Bayern only had two nervous moments all game. The first was Dzenan Pejcinovic's goal for Wolfsburg in the 13th, which leveled the score at 1-1 after right back Konrad Laimer missed an interception.

The other was a brief injury scare for Kane, who needed treatment after being caught on the ankle by defender Moritz Jenz midway through the first half but was soon back in action.

It was Bayern's biggest margin of victory in a Bundesliga game since Kompany took over ahead of the 2024-25 season. His team has scored a remarkable 63 goals in 16 league games this season, nearly four per game, and conceded only 12.

Bayern hasn't lost a Bundesliga game since March and remains the only unbeaten team in any of Europe's five biggest leagues. Wolfsburg is 14th, three points above the relegation zone, as a troubled season hits a new low.

Bayern's closest rivals all had difficulties this weekend as second-place Borussia Dortmund drew 3-3 with Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen lost 4-1 to Stuttgart and Leipzig’s game was postponed due to snow.

Wolfburg's American midfielder Kevin Paredes entered in the 77th minute, his first match this season after recovering from foot surgery in August.

Also Sunday, United States full back Joe Scally scored his first goal since 2023 as Borussia Moenchengladbach beat Augsburg 4-0. Gladbach moved up two places to 10th after winning at home for only the second time this season.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Munich's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Munich's Michael Olise celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Mönchengladbach's Joe Scally, center, celebrates scoring with teammates during the Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Mönchengladbach - FC Augsburg in Mönchengladbach, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (Marius Becker/dpa via AP)

Munich's Michael Olise celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in Munich, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)