It’s 9pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv, and 1pm in Washington. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Egyptian and Qatari mediators are intensifying efforts to salvage the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, after Hamas announced on Monday it would delay the next planned release of three Israeli hostages scheduled for Saturday. The two sides were close to an agreement, Associated Press reports, adding that Hamas official said there were “positive signs” that the Israeli hostages will be released on Saturday as planned.

• Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, warned that the country would resume its war in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold the ceasefire agreement and release Israeli hostages by Saturday. Katz said “all hell would break loose” if Hamas stops freeing hostages, echoing a threat by Donald Trump who has said that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not freed. The White House said Trump told the Jordanian King Abdullah to ensure Hamas understands the “severity of the situation” if hostages are not released by Saturday’s deadline.

• Israel’s military has called up reservists in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza, Reuters reports. Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he had directed the Israeli army to increase reinforcements in the Gaza area “in preparation for various scenarios”, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced it was deploying additional forces to Israel’s south, including mobilising reservists.

• Hamas is facing hard choices as the Israeli military bolsters troop numbers in and around Gaza. Although the Palestinian militant group has accused Israel of violating the truce, it has also stressed that it wants the ceasefire to continue. Trump’s proposal for the US to take over Gaza has essentially already torpedoed the next two phases of the ceasefire agreement – an end to the war, and talks on future governance of the strip – leaving Hamas with dwindling options. A Hamas spokesperson said on Wednesday that it will not “accept the language of American and Israeli threats.”

• Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah said Gaza should be rebuilt without displacing Palestinians, according to a readout of a call between the two leaders by the Egyptian presidency. The pair stressed the “unity” of their countries’ positions on Gaza as well as the “necessity of the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement.”

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Israel and Hamas to “maintain the ceasefire”. The ICRC, which is facilitating hostage-prisoner exchanges under the truce, also warned that people in Gaza “need respite from violence and access to lifesaving humanitarian aid.”

• The US has authorised a “long term” Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli reports, while Israel has reportedly requested to keep its troops in multiple posts in southern Lebanon until 28 February. Under a ceasefire deal agreed in November which brought an end to the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli troops were supposed to have completed their withdrawal by from southern Lebanon by 26 January. The deal has been extended until 18 February.

• The Israeli military said it struck two people in the southern Gaza Strip who were flying a drone. Gaza’s health ministry said a 44-year-old man was killed in an Israeli strike near the southern city of Rafah on Wednesday, without providing further details. Munir al-Bursh, director general of the ministry, said on Tuesday that at least 92 Palestinians have been killed and more than 800 injured by Israeli fire since the fragile ceasefire took hold last month.

The US has authorised a “long term” Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon, Reuters reports, citing Israel’s public broadcaster.

Under a ceasefire deal agreed in November which brought an end to the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli troops were supposed to have completed their withdrawal by from southern Lebanon by 26 January.

Benjamin Netanyahu announced last month that his troops would not comply with the deadline, and the deal has been extended until 18 February.

But as we reported earlier, Israel has reportedly requested to keep its troops in multiple posts in southern Lebanon for a further 10 days, until 28 February.

Citing senior officials in Israel’s security cabinet, public broadcaster Kan reports that the US had granted Israeli troops permission to stay “in several locations” in Lebanon beyond 18 February. It did not specify a new deadline.

Hamas is facing hard choices as the Israeli military bolsters troop numbers in and around the Gaza Strip and the three-week-old ceasefire falters.

The Palestinian militant group unexpectedly announced on Monday that it was postponing the next planned release of three Israeli hostages over the weekend, citing alleged Israeli violations of the truce: delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, blocking the arrival of aid and attacking civilians. It stressed, however, that it wants the ceasefire to continue, emphasising that mediators had five days before the handover to ensure Israel “complies and compensates for the past weeks”.

There are also two unspoken reasons for the Palestinian militant group’s decision.

Hamas officials are astute observers of Israeli politics and media; they took careful note of the furore caused by the emaciated condition of the three hostages released last weekend, which the hostage families forum likened to images of Holocaust survivors.

If the group is releasing the healthiest captives first, and the next to be freed are in even worse shape, Hamas commanders may be worried about pushing Israeli public opinion towards resuming hostilities in revenge for the treatment of the hostages.

Hamas is also just as vulnerable as the rest of the world to Donald Trump’s tendency to make up policy on the fly. The president’s ill-considered and sudden announcement last week that the US will take over and “develop” the Gaza Strip was met with international condemnation.

The militant group did not mention the Trump proposal in its statement on Monday, but the president has essentially already torpedoed the next two phases of the ceasefire agreement – an end to the war, and talks on future governance of the strip – leaving Hamas with dwindling options.

Read the full analysis here:

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah said that Gaza should be rebuilt without displacing Palestinians, Egypt’s presidency said in a statement reporting a phone call between the two on Wednesday.

Donald Trump has continued to push for a plan to resettle the Palestinian population to both Egypt and Jordan, a proposal both countries have rejected repeatedly.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz warned that the country would resume its war in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold the ceasefire agreement and release Israeli hostages by Saturday, Agence France-Presse reports.

“The new Gaza war will be different in intensity from the one before the ceasefire, and it will not end without the defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages. It will also allow the realisation of US president (Donald) Trump’s vision for Gaza,” Katz said, referring to Trump’s plan for the US to take over the Palestinian territory.

Donald Trump asked Jordanian King Abdullah to ensure the Hamas militants understand the “severity of the situation” if hostages are not released by Saturday’s deadline, the White House said on Wednesday.

“The president reiterated that Hamas must release all hostages, including all Americans, by Saturday, and asked for the King’s assistance in ensuring that Hamas, as well as the leaders of the region, understand the severity of the situation,” the White House said in a statement.

The two leaders held “a warm and productive working meeting at the White House” on Tuesday, it added.

Hamas said on Wednesday it will not accept threats from the US and Israel over an ongoing truce in Gaza, amid an impasse between the parties over the implementation of the ceasefire deal, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“Our position is clear, and we will not accept the language of American and Israeli threats. Israel must commit to implementing the terms of the ceasefire agreement for the release” of the hostages, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, which has been holding Israeli hostages since 7 October 2023, said on Wednesday that the fate of those hostages was tied to the actions of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports Reuters.

“The only way to retrieve hostages and for stability to come back is through a swap deal,” the group’s spokesperson said on Telegram.

Israel’s military has called up reservists in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to release more Israeli hostages and a nearly month-old ceasefire breaks down, reports Reuters.

Concern that the ceasefire will collapse is growing as fury mounts in Arab countries over US president Donald Trump’s plan for the United States to take over Gaza, resettle its Palestinian inhabitants and develop the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

Under the ceasefire deal in force since 19 January, Hamas agreed to free three more hostages on Saturday. But Hamas said this week it was suspending the handover over what it said were Israeli violations of the terms.

Trump responded by saying all hostages must be freed by noon on Saturday or he would “let hell break out”.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu then warned on Tuesday that his country would resume “intense fighting” if Hamas did not meet the deadline, but did not say how many hostages should be freed.

Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to gather forces in and around Gaza, and the military announced it was deploying additional forces to Israel’s south, including mobilising reservists, reports Reuters.

Egypt and Qatar are intensifying efforts to save the Gaza ceasefire deal after pressure from the United States and Israel to resume military operations, state-affiliated Egypt’s al Qahera news TV reported on Wednesday, citing an Egyptian source.

US president Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that “hell will break loose” if Israeli hostages were not released by Hamas on Saturday, as scheduled under the ceasefire.

Hamas has postponed the release of hostages, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire’s terms.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) have a little more on the news we just reported that a Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo.

“A delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, arrived in Cairo and began meetings with Egyptian officials, and followed up on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said in a statement, according to AFP.

An official told AFP the delegation “will discuss ways to end the current crisis and ensure the occupation’s commitment to implementing the agreement”.