Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is threatening to continue his country's war against Hamas in Gaza, breaking the ceasefire deal with the group if it doesn't release hostages by a Saturday deadline. 

"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated," Netanyahu wrote on the social media platform X Tuesday. 

Al-Qassam Brigades – the armed wing of Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip – said Monday the hostage release would be "postponed until further notice."

Following a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday, President Donald Trump predicted Hamas likely would not release the hostages. 

“I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline, personally,” Trump said, according to The Associated Press. “They want to play tough guy. We’ll see how tough they are.”

So far with the ceasefire deal, Hamas has released 21 hostages in a series of five exchanges for over 730 Palestinian prisoners.