Hamas: Donald Trump's threats don't scare us, they're backed by nothing

Hamas senior leader Sami Abu Zuhri told al-Jazeera today (Wednesday) that the terrorist group remains committed to the hostage deal and is unmoved by threats from either President Donald Trump or Defense Minister Israel Katz.

In his statement, he said that "we are committed to the agreement as it is and we will not release all the prisoners (Hamas' term for the hostages) on Saturday," in reference to President Donald Trump's threat to end the hostage deal and let "all hell" break loose if all were not released this week.

Zuhri then claimed that Hamas is unmoved by threats to renew the war from either Israel or the United States: "Trump's threats don't scare us. They are backed by nothing. The statements of the Israeli Defense Minister regarding the renewal of the fighting are stupid."

He further said that "we are very satisfied at the official Arab opposition to the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza," as Arab states throughout the region have put up a united front of opposition and resistance to President Donald Trump's proposal to relocated displaced Gazans from the Gaza Strip to other countries.

Meanwhile, the IDF's 162nd Division conducted an exercise preparing for a possible massive Hamas "flood" offensive from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israeli towns, a concept known as a "Philistine Horseman" in IDF parlance, including preparing for a number of possible contingencies and ensuring proper coordination with the air force in such an eventuality.

The IDF is under orders to prepare for a possible renewal of the war on Saturday, though the current assessment among the defense establishment is that the deal is still proceeding as planned, including the release of three hostages and several Palestinian terrorists this coming Saturday.

The Israeli government, meantime, is keeping its options open in terms of whether to proceed with the hostage deal as written or whether to add demands with the support of President Trump.