Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel reserves the right to resume fighting in Gaza with US support, as he pledged to bring home all hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
"We reserve the right to resume the war if necessary, with American support," Netanyahu said in a televised statement, a day before a ceasefire is set to take effect.
"We are thinking of all our hostages ... I promise you that we will achieve all our objectives and bring back all the hostages.
"With this agreement, we will bring back 33 of our brothers and sisters, the majority (of them) alive," he said.
He said the 42-day first phase, which starts on Sunday, was a "temporary ceasefire."
"If we are forced to resume the war, we will do so with force," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had "changed the face of the Middle East" since the war began.
List of names
Earlier, his office demanded that Hamas provide a list of names of hostages to be freed on Sunday before any prisoner swap takes place.
"We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed," it said. When asked by AFP, Netanyahu’s spokesman said he was referring to the names of hostages to be freed on Sunday.
The first, 42-day phase of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel begins at 8:30 am on Sunday.
Both sides have hinted that an exchange of hostages for prisoners will happen only after 4:00 pm (1400 GMT).
With AFP
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