‘Let all hell break out’ : ceasefire threatened, hostage releases paused

US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that Israel end the ceasefire in Gaza and resume fighting if all remaining hostages are not freed by the end of the week.

“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” Trump said.

Trump's backing for a resumption of fighting followed an announcement by the Hamas terror group that it would not release three hostages slated for release on Saturday, placing fresh doubts on whether the fraught truce will hold.

What that means for the 42 hostages believed to be still alive in Gaza was made chillingly apparent last Saturday with the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy.

Photos of their skeletal bodies and harrowing accounts of physical and psychological torture have heightened both distress over their experiences and fears for those who remain in captivity.

The condition of the released hostages appears to have prompted Trump to back off support for the staggered releases agreed to by Israel and Hamas under the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on January 19.

“We want them all back,” he said, rejecting releases “in drips and drabs.”

“Based on what I saw over the last two days, they’re not going to be alive for long. Saturday at 12 o’clock, and after that, it’s going to be a different ball game.”

Israelis too are having second throughts about staged releases, as the frail condition of those released makes it clear that those still in captivity are in immediate danger. As Amos Harel noted in Haaretz “If the Israeli public doesn't exert heavy pressure on the government to advance to the second phase of the deal and ensure the release of the 76 hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip (more than half of whom are presumed dead), they will continue to suffer under similar, and perhaps even harsher, conditions. “

Seventy-six of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, 42 believed to be alive and the bodies 34 people confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas initially said Saturday's releases would be postponed until further notice due to alleged violations of the ceasefire agreement by Israel. In a later statement, Hamas recommitted to the conditions of the ceasefire and said its decision to announce the pause was intended to give mediators five days to pressure Israel "to fulfil its commitments, and to keep the door open for the exchange to take place on time."

The threat to the deal also comes from the Israeli side. Haaretz reported on Sunday that Israeli sources believe Prime Minister Netanyahu intends to sabotage the hostage release deal and will not advance to the second stage of the agreement. According to these sources, the images of hostages being freed have significantly damaged Netanyahu’s standing in the polls. "Right-wing voters see that we haven't defeated Hamas, and its operatives are still roaming with weapons. The signs on stages in Gaza during the hostage return events mock Netanyahu and reference his 'total victory' slogan," one source said. "Netanyahu knows he doesn't have a government if he proceeds with the deal."

Last week's release of three men has provided the most detail yet of the experience of the hostages in Gaza.

Israel's Kan 11 reported that the three hostages were interrogated separately by their captors, subjected to brutal physical abuse in an effort to extract information. They were choked, bound, gagged with cloth to the point of suffocation, hung upside down, and burned with heated objects. One of the freed hostages revealed he had been chained for 15 months. "I was shackled inside a dark tunnel, with no air or light. I couldn't walk or stand, and only before my release did my captors remove the chains, forcing me to learn to walk again," he told his family, who later shared his account with Israel’s Channel 12.

Or Levy told his family that the tunnel where they were held was so narrow and low that they couldn't stand upright. Tal Levy, Or’s brother, confirmed to Haaretz that the hostages were deliberately starved, receiving only a rotten pita every few days, which they had to share with others. "There was intentional starvation—a policy from Yahya Sinwar," he told Ynet News. "A few months ago, officials from the Defence Ministry and the military informed us that Sinwar had ordered the systematic starvation of male hostages." Tal added that, in his estimation, Or would not have survived much longer had he remained in captivity for another two to three weeks.

Israel’s Channel 13 reported that at times, hostages went days without water. One hostage reportedly collapsed in captivity, and those imprisoned with him feared he had died. Captors ate in front of the hostages while denying them food, occasionally forcing them to decide who would eat and who would go hungry. According to the report, hostages were only able to bathe once every few months. They remained barefoot throughout their captivity and had no way to distinguish between day and night.

On Sunday, Idit Ohel—the mother of hostage Alon Ohel, still in captivity, told Channel 12, that released hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy had been held with her son for the duration of their captivity. Ohel pleaded desperately for his release, saying she had just been told that he was being held starving and in chains in a Hamas tunnel, suffering from multiple untreated injuries. “He has shrapnel in his eye, his shoulder, and his arm. Alon was bound in chains this entire time and had almost no food—at most one pita a day, for a very, very, very long time. More than a year,” she said. Ohel was not among those released in this phase and is set to be freed only as part of the second stage of the deal, pending further negotiations over a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Channel 13 reported that Hamas captors used psychological torture, showing hostages statements from Israeli politicians and reports of efforts to sabotage the deal. They would taunt them with phrases like, "They don't want to free you" or "This is how they treat you." According to Channel 12, Or Levy was psychologically tormented by his captors, who repeatedly made him believe he was about to be released, despite holding him for over 15 months. They used similar tactics on other hostages—telling some they would be freed while informing others they would remain behind.

Levy also reportedly said his captors viewed him as a soldier and subjected him to harsh interrogations. Levy, Ben Ami, and Sharabi were informed of their impending release about ten days beforehand. Channel 13 reported that in the days leading up to their release, they received a larger amount of food.

The three were completely cut off from the outside world, with no access to news or media. Their captors used this isolation to further manipulate and torment them. Channel 12 reported that Eli Sharabi was unaware that his wife and two daughters had been murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 when he was released from Gaza. However, Hamas did inform Sharabi of his brother Yossi’s death as he was being paraded on stage in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. Upon seeing IDF soldiers for the first time, Sharabi expressed excitement about reuniting with his wife, Leanne, and daughters, Noya and Yahel—still unaware that they had been brutally murdered in their home in Be’eri during the October 7 massacre.

Or Levy had suspected that his wife, Einav, had died but did not know for sure, his mother, Geula Levy, told Kan 11. Levy was attending the Nova music festival on October 7 when he was kidnapped; his wife, Einav, was killed in the attack. Following his release on Saturday, Levy’s mother said he immediately asked about his wife. “He did not know. He assumed, and he asked—and we had to tell him,” Geula told Kan 11 News.

Eliya Cohen is another hostage, still in captivity,  who was kidnapped from the "shelter of death" on October 7, along with Hirsch Goldberg-Polin, Or Levy, and Alon Ohel. His partner, Ziv Abud, now knows he is alive but being held under inhumane conditions, including being restrained in chains and unaware she is still alive. "Now I know that you don't know that I'm alive. From the testimonies of people who were with you in captivity, I know that you don't know what we went through here and what we are doing—not even a little—because you are completely cut off." Ziv wrote in a social media post on Sunday night.

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Trump urges ending Gaza ceasefire if all hostages not released by noon Saturday (Times of Israel)

Hamas has ordered systematic starvation of male hostages, freed captives reveal (Ynet News)

Choking, Hanging, Starvation: Hostages Reportedly Faced Severe Torture in Hamas Captivity (Haaretz)

Condition of hostages released by Hamas sparks concerns in Israel (CNN)

Hamas Halts Hostage Releases Until Further Notice Citing Israeli Cease-fire Violations (Haaretz)

As Netanyahu Stalls the Next Stage of the Hostage Deal, Israelis Must Turn Their Shock Into Action (Amos Harel, Haaretz)

Health Ministry: Hostages suffering severe malnutrition; Herzog: Crime against humanity (Times of Israel)

Israeli sources believe Netanyahu intends to derail Gaza cease-fire as delegation heads to Doha (Haaretz)