Hamas brushes off Trump's latest deadline

Israeli PM Netanyahu orders army to beef up troops around Gaza

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US President Donald Trump warned that "all hell" would break loose if every Israeli hostage is not released from Gaza within days, after Hamas threatened to postpone further exchanges under a fragile ceasefire deal it said Israel was violating.

The truce that went into effect on January 19 largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip and saw five groups of Israeli hostages freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody.

But tensions have been running high since a shock proposal by Trump to take over the Gaza Strip and remove its more than two million inhabitants.

Trump said he would call for the end of the ceasefire if every Israeli hostage was not released by noon on Saturday.

"But as far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday 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," Trump told reporters at the White House.

The ceasefire agreement says staggered releases should take place over the ongoing 42-day first phase of the deal.