Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 13, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Lowering demand, Israel says Hamas must free 3 hostages Saturday or war will resume
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Hamas must release three living hostages on Saturday, says Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, otherwise the Gaza ceasefire will end.
“Three live hostages must be released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday,” says Mencer during a Zoom briefing.
“If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end.”
In various conflicting statements earlier this week, Israeli officials said nine hostages must be released “in the coming days,” and “all of them” must go free on Saturday. US President Donald Trump called for all hostages held by Hamas to be released by Saturday at noon.
