Israel’s prime minister has warned it will terminate the ceasefire in Gaza and resume intense fighting “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon”.

Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israeli military to amass troops inside and around Gaza in response to Hamas’s announcement that it was postponing freeing more hostages until further notice.

It was not clear whether Netanyahu was demanding the release of all 76 remaining hostages, or only the three who were scheduled to be freed this Saturday.

On Monday, Hamas said it would delay their release because Israel had violated the three-week-old ceasefire deal, including by blocking vital humanitarian aid – a claim Israel denied.