Israel PM says ready 'at any moment' to resume Gaza fighting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that Israel was prepared to resume fighting in the Gaza Strip "at any moment" while vowing to complete the war's objectives "whether through negotiation or by other means."

"We are prepared to resume intense fighting at any moment, our operational plans are ready," Netanyahu said at a ceremony for combat officers, a day after Israel halted the release of Palestinian prisoners which was due as part of a truce deal.

"In Gaza, we have eliminated most of Hamas's organised forces, but let there be no doubt - we will complete the war's objectives entirely - whether through negotiation or by other means," he added.

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which began on Jan.19, largely halted more than 15 months of devastating fighting in the Palestinian territory.

The first phase of the truce ends early in March but negotiations have not yet taken place for a planned subsequent phase, which is meant to lead to a permanent end to the war triggered by Hamas's Oct.7, 2023 attack on Israel

Israel had been expected to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in exchange for six Israeli hostages freed by Hamas militants in Gaza.

But Netanyahu said the prisoner release would be delayed until Hamas ends its "humiliating ceremonies" while freeing Israeli hostages.

Hamas accused Israel on Sunday of jeopardising the Gaza truce after the government halted the release of Palestinian prisoners.

"By postponing the release of our Palestinian prisoners according to the phase one ceasefire agreement, the enemy government is acting rampantly and exposing the entire agreement to grave danger," senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Israel sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years on Sunday as it ordered the military to prepare for an "extended stay" to fight Palestinian groups in the area's refugee camps.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have already been displaced from their homes in the West Bank over the past month as the military has moved into the crowded refugee camps of flashpoint cities like Jenin and Tulkarm, cracking down on groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The camps, housing descendants of Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes in the 1948 war around the birth of the state of Israel, have been strongholds of the militant groups for decades.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said around 40,000 Palestinians had been moved from the camps which he said were now empty.

Netanyahu ordered the military to pick up the intensity of operations after a series of explosions on buses in transport depots close to Tel Aviv on Thursday.

The blasts caused no casualties but revived memories of the suicide bombings on public transport that killed hundreds of Israelis during the Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, two decades ago.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the decision to deploy tanks in the northern West Bank.

"This is a dangerous Israeli escalation that will not lead to stability or calm," he said.

Agencies