Israel-Gaza war live: Netanyahu says ‘if we must return to fighting, we will do that’, citing support from Biden and Trump

Netanyahu: ‘If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways’
Benjamin Netanyahu said that the first stage of the ceasefire deal was temporary, adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.”
Netanyahu, who also said that Israel’s “campaign is not over yet”, added that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden back Israel’s “right to resume fighting if the second stage is fruitless”.
The Israeli prime minister’s comments on Saturday evening come as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is set to take place on Sunday at 6.30 GMT.
As part of the deal, 33 of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas are expected to be freed in this phase, according to Reuters. In exchange, Israel will release approximately 2,000 Palestinians currently detained across multiple prisons.
Key events
More than 70 pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested in Trafalgar Square in London on suspicion of breaching protest conditions after demonstrators broke through a police line as they marched from a rally in Whitehall.
Saturday’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) protest was adjusted to be a static rally after police curtailed organisers’ plans for a march past the BBC and near a synagogue, PA Media reports.
But thousands of demonstrators, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the party’s former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, marched towards Trafalgar Square from Whitehall after speeches were made at the rally.
Protesters met a line of police officers and eventually broke through, with those who made it to the square later finding themselves being held in one corner.
The Metropolitan police warned the group to disperse or face arrest, later announcing 77 people had been arrested – the highest number over more than 20 national PSC protests since October 2023.
People have gathered in Paris in support of the hostages held in Gaza, describing being torn between feelings hours before a truce set to allow their release takes effect.
“It’s a mix of hope and fear,” said Jean-David Ichay, president of the Tous 7 Octobre association.
There’s already the fact that only 33 hostages have been announced so far … The rest will either happen later or not at all.
Agence France-Presse reports that participants at the Saturday rally, opposite the Eiffel Tower, held up “bring them home” placards with the faces of some of the hostages while a digital counter marked the days, hours and minutes they have been held captive.
“Now, at last, we have hope,” Efrat Yahalomi, sister of French-Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi, said from a stage.
Please support us until the last hostage is home.
French president Emmanuel Macron has said Yahalomi and another dual national, Ofer Kalderon, are among those due to be freed in the first phase.
Moshe Lavi said his brother-in-law Omri Miran, 47, was not among those expected to be released.
“We rejoice for those who will be reunited. But for us and for so many others, our fight continues,” he said.
We call on the public to not fall into euphoria but to continue to come to rallies and speak up for the hostages.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza, with the Hamas-run health ministry saying 23 bodies had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours.
“What is this truce that kills us hours before it begins?” asked Abdallah Al-Aqad, the brother of a woman killed by an airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Associated Press also reports that sirens sounded across central and southern Israel, with the military saying it intercepted projectiles launched from Yemen.
Israeli forces begin withdrawing from parts of Rafah to Philadelphi corridor, pro-Hamas media says
Israeli forces have started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, Reuters has cited pro-Hamas media as reporting early on Sunday.
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is scheduled to start at 8.30am local time (0630 GMT) Sunday, just to recap, as families of hostages held in Gaza brace for news of loved ones, Palestinians prepare to receive freed detainees and humanitarian groups rush to set up a surge of aid.
But in a national address 12 hours before the truce was to start, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was treating the ceasefire as temporary and retained the right to continue fighting if necessary. He claimed he had the support US president-elect Donald Trump, who told NBC News that he told the prime minister to “keep doing what you have to do”, the Associated Press reports.
Netanyahu also asserted that he negotiated the best deal possible, even as Israel’s far-right public security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he and most of his party would resign from the government in opposition to it.
Netanyahu earlier warned that a ceasefire wouldn’t go forward unless Israel received the names of hostages to be released, as agreed. Israel had expected to receive the names from mediator Qatar. There was no immediate response from Qatar or Hamas.
The overnight approval of the ceasefire deal by the Israeli cabinet early on Saturday, in a rare meeting during the Jewish Sabbath, set off a flurry of activity and a fresh wave of emotions as relatives wondered whether hostages would be returned alive or dead. Families and thousands of others rallied once more on Saturday night in Tel Aviv.
“Please keep going and saving lives,” said Anat Angrest, whose son Matan Angrest is still held in Gaza.
Families of British-linked hostages have said they are “filled with trepidation” ahead of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal coming into effect.
PA Media reports that Adam Ma’anit, who lives in Brighton, said his cousin Tsachi Idan was on the list of hostages set to be released in the opening phase of the truce, and spoke of his cautious hope for his safe return.
The 51-year-old said: “I think I’m feeling every spectrum of human emotion all at once, in the sense that I am incredibly anxious, filled with trepidation, but also optimism.
But I can’t allow myself to be overly invested in that optimism because we’ve been here before where a deal seemed imminent and things were looking up and our hopes and dreams and desires were about to be coming true, and our loved ones returned to us, and then we would have them crashed down into the reality of collapsed negotiations and the grim prospect of months more uncertainty.
Idan, who turns 51 in April, witnessed his eldest daughter’s murder before he was taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023. The family have hope that he is still alive, although Ma’anit told PA that Hamas said he was dead in a video published last January.
Loved ones of other British-linked hostages have been waiting to learn if their relatives will be released. British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, was kidnapped during the 7 October attack and has been a hostage for 470 days.
Arsenal and Tottenham football fans united in support of Damari at the North London derby on Wednesday, and her mother Mandy tweeted her appreciation afterwards saying: “I know that you don’t agree on very much, which makes it even more special that you have come together to say ‘bring her home’.”
Houthis warn of ‘consequences’ if attacked during Gaza truce
Yemen’s Houthis claimed an attack on a US aircraft carrier on Sunday and warned of “consequences” for any retaliation during the coming Gaza ceasefire.
“The Yemeni armed forces warn the enemy forces in the Red Sea of the consequences of any aggression against our country during the ceasefire period in Gaza,” the Houthis said in a statement.
They will confront any aggression with specific military operations against those forces without a ceiling or red lines.
An initial 42-day truce in the Israel-Gaza war is scheduled to begin at 0630 GMT on Sunday.
Agence France-Presse reports that the Iran-backed Houthis, who have attacked shipping in the Red Sea throughout the war in Gaza, said they targeted the USS Harry S Truman and other “warships” with drones and cruise missiles.
“The American aircraft carrier was forced to leave the theatre of operations,” the rebels’ statement said.
Part of Iran’s “axis of resistance”, the Houthis have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
They have also waged a harassment campaign against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, severely disrupting trade routes.
On Friday, the Houthis warned they would keep up their attacks if Israel did not respect the terms of the ceasefire with Hamas.
Interim summary
Here’s a look at where things stand:
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The Gaza ceasefire will come into effect at 8.30am Gaza time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday 19 January, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said. Under the ceasefire agreement, the three-stage truce starts with an initial six-week phase when hostages held by Hamas will be exchanged for Palestinians detained in jails across Israel.
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Hamas said on Saturday that the mechanism of the release of Israeli hostages it holds in Gaza would depend on the number of detained Palestinians Israel would free. Hamas also said on Saturday that Israel had “failed to achieve its aggressive goals” in Gaza.
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In a new statement on Saturday, Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not go forth with the ceasefire deal until it receives a list of the 33 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the first phase of the deal. “We will not move forward with the agreement until we receive the list of hostages who will be released, as agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
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Benjamin Netanyahu also said that the first stage of the ceasefire deal was temporary, adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.” Netanyahu, who also said that Israel’s “campaign is not over yet”, added that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden back Israel’s “right to resume fighting if the second stage is fruitless”.
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Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem, congratulated Palestinians on Saturday for the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying it proved the “persistence of resistance” against Israel in his first comments since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday. Qassem also said that the Hezbollah’s war with Israel in Lebanon had contributed in “Gaza’s victory”, according to Reuters.
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Israeli forces have killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in an update on Saturday. The ministry statement said that 23 Palestinians were killed and 83 were injured over the past 24 hours.
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Thousands of anti-war demonstrators gathered throughout London on Saturday before the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Sunday scheduled for 6.30 GMT. The demonstrations came amid 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians and forcibly displaced nearly 2 million survivors.
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The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday. The military activated air raid sirens in Jerusalem and in parts of central and southern Israel ahead of the interceptions during the day, with the first projectile shot down in the morning.
More than 70 anti-war protestors were arrested by London police on Saturday.
The Guardian’s Geneva Abdul and Nadeem Badshah report:
More than 70 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested in central London on Saturday on suspicion of breaching protest conditions after some allegedly broke through a police line as they marched from a rally in Whitehall.
Thousands of people had gathered to protest Israel’s 15-month war in Gaza, a day after a ceasefire deal was agreed with Hamas, with signs saying “Stop arming Israel” and “Free Palestine”.
The crowds were initially blocked from marching up Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square by a line of police, but some protesters broke through to advance toward the London landmark.
Footage posted on X appeared to show the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell among the protesters passing by officers as the crowd moved towards Trafalgar Square.
The Metropolitan police said a total of 77 people were arrested.
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Here is the inside story of how an unlikely alliance between Donald Trump and Joe Biden led to the latest ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, as reported by the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison and Andrew Roth:
It was a subtle, but significant flex of power by Donald Trump’s new envoy to the Middle East. Ten days before tomorrow’s presidential inauguration, he called Israel to announce he was coming to Tel Aviv to meet Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump had demanded a deal to release Israel’s hostages before he took his oath of office, and the man charged with making that happen was Steve Witkoff – a New York property developer confident that a long relationship with Trump could offset a lack of diplomatic experience.
He landed last Saturday, in the middle of the Jewish Sabbath, when the Israeli prime minister does not take on official duties. Netanyahu’s aides told Witkoff he would have to wait a few hours for a meeting.
Witkoff, who is Jewish, made clear that would not be happening. Trump was in a hurry – and he wanted to get on with the mission.
For the full story, click here:
Thousands of anti-war demonstrators protest in London before ceasefire deal
Thousands of anti-war demonstrators gathered throughout London on Saturday before the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Sunday scheduled for 6.30 GMT.
The demonstrations came amid 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians and forcibly displaced nearly 2 million survivors, in addition to leaving the narrow strip grappling with severe shortages in aid, medical supplies and food due to Israeli aid restrictions.
Speaking to Agence France-Presse, one demonstrator, Sophie Mason, said:
We desperately want to be optimistic … And so we need to be out on the streets in order to make sure the ceasefire holds.
In addition to posters that read “Stop arming Israel”, anti-war protestors waved signs that read “Gaza, stop the massacre” and chanted slogans for Palestinian liberation.
Families of Israeli hostages nervously await the return of their loved ones before a fragile ceasefire expected on Sunday at 06.30 GMT.
The Guardian’s Lorenzo Tondo reports:
For over a decade the world seemed to have forgotten Avera Mengistu.
An Israeli Jew of Ethiopian heritage, who reportedly had mental health issues, Mengistu was 28 when he entered the Gaza Strip voluntarily on 7 September 2014 after a dispute with his mother.
Mistaken for an Israeli soldier and spy, Mengistu was captured by Hamas and detained in a prison within the territory. Since then, his whereabouts remained a mystery, with him appearing sporadically in Hamas videos, calling for his release. His family claimed the Israeli army and government never really tried to bring him home.
For the full story, click here:
Here is video of Benjamin Netanyahu’s address from earlier today in which he vowed: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways”:
The prime minister’s comments on the evening of 18 January come as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is set to begin on Sunday at 6.40 GMT.

Joanna Walters
Preliminary research by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) estimates that at least 166 journalists and media workers have been among the many tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since the current war began in October 2023, making it the deadliest period for journalists worldwide since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.
The CPJ said: “Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, famine, the displacement of 90% of Gaza’s population, and the destruction of 80% of its buildings.”
Here are some members of the media in Gaza taking a moment to celebrate the agreement to a ceasefire early tomorrow, singing: “We will stay here.”
Interim summary
News is moving fast in the Middle East today on the verge of a ceasefire in the 15-month Israel-Gaza war. It’s coming up on 10pm in Tel Aviv and Gaza City. We’ll keep you up to date as events happen.
Here’s where things stand:
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The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said both US president-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, and outgoing the US president, Joe Biden, have stressed that Israel can return to fighting in Gaza if the next stages of the deal are not realized.
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Netanyahu said that the first stage of tomorrow’s scheduled ceasefire in Gaza was temporary, adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.”
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David Lammy, the UK’s foreign secretary, congratulated the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, for his country’s efforts on reaching a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
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In a new statement on Saturday, Netanyahu said Israel will not go forth with the ceasefire deal until it receives a list of the 33 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the first phase of the deal.
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The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said that a “more hopeful” future awaits Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbor which recently entered into a ceasefire with Hamas-ally Hezbollah there. Guterres spoke after his meeting with Lebanon’s new leaders.
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The Gaza ceasefire will come into effect at 8.30am Gaza time (6.30am GMT) on Sunday, 19 January, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said.
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The government announced the approval after 1am Saturday, Jerusalem time, following a six-hour meeting of the full cabinet that went well past the beginning of the Jewish sabbath.
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News of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas has been greeted with joy by Palestinians but a more wary attitude in Israel, where demonstrators both in favour and against the deal have taken to the streets.
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Thirty-three of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages – including women, children, men over 50, and ill and wounded captives – are to be freed in this phase. In return, Israel will release almost 2,000 Palestinians from its jails.
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Hamas said on Saturday that the mechanism of the release of Israeli hostages it holds in Gaza would depend on the number of Palestinian prisoners Israel would free.
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Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, congratulated Palestinians on Saturday for the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying it proved the “persistence of resistance” against Israel in his first comments since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday.
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A spokesperson for al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has said that the group is making final arrangements for the release of captives. However, they warned that intensified Israeli bombing could put their lives at risk.
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The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday.
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Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in an update on Saturday.
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Israel is expected to receive the names of the first three hostages to be released. Hamas will reportedly give the names to Qatar, which will then inform the Mossad director, David Barnea. Barnea would then inform the families.
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Israeli police said that several people were injured in a shooting in Tel Aviv on Saturday, while emergency service providers reported that one person was injured by stabbing.
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Eight people have been arrested at a pro-Palestine rally in central London.
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Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, stressed to UN secretary general, António Guterres, on Saturday the urgency of an Israeli military withdrawal as stipulated by a ceasefire deal that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in November.
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The Palestine Red Cross Society (PRCS) welcomed the news of a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip in a statement published on Saturday, describing it as a “glimpse of hope through the darkness” for Palestinians.
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Two judges were killed in a shooting attack on Saturday outside the supreme court building in Tehran, Iranian state media reported.
Here are some images coming through the newswires from Israel and Gaza where a ceasefire, between Israel and Hamas is set to take place on Sunday at 6.30am GMT:
With a looming yet fragile ceasefire set to take place between Israel and Hamas, hundreds of thousand of Palestinians who have been displaced by Israeli forces are preparing to return to whatever remains of their homes or to claim bodies from the rubble.
The Guardian’s Jason Burke and Malak A Tantesh report:
Aid agencies in Gaza are bracing for chaotic scenes this week as hundreds of thousands of people try to return to homes in the territory after the expected implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Sunday.
Before the ceasefire, which is due to begin at 8.30am local time, Israel has continued to carry out attacks inside Gaza. The local health ministry claimed on Saturday that 23 Palestinians had been killed in the previous 24 hours, while the Israeli army said it had conducted strikes on 50 “terror targets” on Friday.
The deal, for which both the outgoing US president, Joe Biden, and his successor, Donald Trump, have claimed credit, was finally ratified by Israel’s cabinet in the early hours of Saturday morning.
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