The future of the cease-fire in Gaza and the territory’s long-term fate hung in the balance on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel warned Hamas that if the scheduled release of hostages did not take place on Saturday, the truce would end and Israeli troops would resume “intense fighting.”

Mr. Netanyahu’s warning came after Hamas said on Monday it would indefinitely postpone the next round of hostage releases, which he said amounted to a “decision to violate the agreement.”

His statement echoed President Trump’s demand a day earlier that all remaining hostages must be freed by 12 o’clock on Saturday or “all hell is going to break out.” But the prime minister did not say that all captives still in Gaza had to be freed; under the terms of the cease-fire, only three were supposed to be let go on Saturday.

Mr. Netanyahu also reiterated an order he issued on Monday night to reinforce troops in and around Gaza, but he did not say they were planning to recapture territory from which Israel had recently withdrawn.

“This operation is currently underway,” he said. “It will be completed as soon as possible.”

Analysts said it was possible that Israel and Hamas would reach a compromise before Saturday on this weekend’s scheduled round of hostage releases. Another hurdle looms in March, when the cease-fire is set to elapse unless Hamas and Israel negotiate an extension.

“The crisis is a prelude for a much bigger crisis that is coming in early March,” said Ibrahim Dalalsha, the director of the Horizon Center, a political research group in the West Bank of Ramallah.

Mr. Trump repeated his ultimatum on freeing the remaining hostages while meeting on Tuesday with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House. “They either have them out by Saturday at 12 p.m. or all bets are off,” the president said.

Mr. Trump’s pronouncements this week — including his statements that the United States will take over the devastated territory and that its Palestinian residents have no rights to return — have infuriated Hamas, flummoxed world leaders and amplified the sense of chaos surrounding the cease-fire negotiations.

Mr. Trump has said the United States will rebuild Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” and on Monday he threatened to withdraw financial support for Egypt and Jordan unless they take in all the Palestinians who would be displaced by that effort.

During his meeting with King Abdullah on Tuesday, Mr. Trump insisted that the United States had the authority to “take” Gaza and that other countries in the region would absorb the Palestinians who live there.

“We will have Gaza,” he said. “It’s a war-torn area. We’re going to take it.”

Jordan’s Parliament last week introduced a bill that would ban the resettlement of Palestinians in the country. But King Abdullah is trying to protect the more than $1.5 billion in foreign aid his country receives from the United States. He said in the meeting that Jordan was willing to take in 2,000 Palestinian children with cancer or otherwise very ill “right away.” Mr. Trump called the offer “a beautiful gesture.”

Hamas, in a statement on Tuesday, called Mr. Trump’s broader proposal of removing Gazans “ethnic cleansing.” The group added, “The plan to deport our people from Gaza will not succeed, and they will be faced with a unified Palestinian, Arab and Islamic position that rejects all displacement plans.”

On Tuesday, Egypt said in a statement released by a spokesperson for the foreign ministry that it intended to present to the United States a “comprehensive vision for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip” that “ensures the Palestinian people remain in their homeland.”

The first phase of the cease-fire deal was struck last month between Israel and Hamas, and it was set to expire on March 2. Originally, three Israelis were to be freed this week in the latest hostage-for-prisoner exchange as required under the agreement. Most of the exchanges have taken place on Saturdays.

So far, 16 of 33 Israeli hostages who were set to be released in the first phase of this cease-fire have been freed. About 60 other hostages, some of whom are believed to be dead, were to be released later this spring under a second phase of the deal.

In a video posted after a four-hour meeting with his security cabinet, Mr. Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he and his top advisers had been shocked by the emaciated appearances of three Israeli men who were freed last Saturday.

“The decision I passed in the cabinet, unanimously, is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the cease-fire will end, and the I.D.F. will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated,” Mr. Netanyahu said in the video, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

In its threat on Monday to delay the next round of hostages to be released, Hamas accused Israel of violating parts of the cease-fire agreement, including by slowing sufficient humanitarian aid in and around Gaza. Israel has denied the claim.

Hamas led the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that started the war, killed about 1,200 people and led to the abduction of 250 others to Gaza. Israel retaliated by bombarding the territory and displacing millions of Palestinians. At least 48,000 Gazans have been killed during the fighting, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Millions of Palestinians are returning to neighborhoods in ruins.

The current standoff stems in part from Hamas’s accusation that Israel has not upheld its promises for the first phase of the cease-fire. Israel was required to send hundreds of thousands of tents into Gaza, a promise that Hamas says Israel has not kept.

Three Israeli officials and two mediators, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said that Hamas’s claims were accurate. But COGAT, the Israeli military unit that oversees aid deliveries, said in a written response that Hamas’s accusations were “completely false.”

It added, “Hundreds of thousands of tents have entered Gaza since the beginning of the agreement, as well as fuel, generators and everything Israel pledged.”

Regardless, officials and commentators say the dispute can be resolved relatively easily if Israel allows more aid to Gaza. More serious, they say, is the widespread perception that Mr. Netanyahu is undermining the negotiations over an extended truce. Those talks were to begin early last week. Instead, Mr. Netanyahu delayed sending a team to Qatar, which is mediating talks, until early this week.

That delegation consisted of three officials who have not previously led Israel’s negotiating effort, according to five Israeli officials and an official from one of the mediating countries. And their mandate was only to listen, not to negotiate.

That created the perception that Mr. Netanyahu was playing for time rather than trying to extend the truce. All the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks more freely.

Omer Dostri, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, said that Mr. Netanyahu was “working tirelessly to return all hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization.” Mr. Dostri added that Israel would send negotiators to discuss the deal’s extension after Israel’s position had been set by the cabinet.

Mr. Netanyahu has often said that Hamas will not remain in power after the war. Key members of his governing coalition have expressed a wish to resume the war to oust Hamas, despite calls from much of the Israeli public and relatives of the captives for an extension of the truce to free the remaining hostages, even if it leaves the militant group in power.

A Hamas official, Mahmoud Mardawi, said that the group’s warning on Monday had been in response mainly to the disagreements over humanitarian aid. But analysts said that it was also an attempt to force Mr. Netanyahu to negotiate earnestly and was probably a reaction to Mr. Trump’s statements about depopulating Gaza.

“There’s an anger among Hamas about the demands of both Netanyahu and Trump that Hamas will be kicked out of Gaza,” said Michael Milshtein, an Israeli analyst of Palestinian affairs.

“The announcement yesterday was a kind of a signal that, if you continue demanding this, there will be several dramatic crises,” he added.

Reporting was contributed by Gabby Sobelman, Natan Odenheimer, Ephrat Livni, Aaron Boxerman and Zolan Kanno-Youngs.

Luis Alberto Castillo, a father of one from Venezuela, entered the United States on Jan. 19, one day before Donald Trump became president for a second term — swept into office on a promise to treat undocumented migrants with a heavy hand.

By Feb. 4, Mr. Castillo was on a plane to a U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, best known for a detention center that has long held terrorism suspects accused of launching the deadliest attack on American soil.

That day, the Department of Homeland Security declared that those who had been transferred to the island represented “the worst of the worst” and were all members of a Venezuelan criminal group, the Tren de Aragua.

But in an interview from her home in Colombia, Mr. Castillo’s sister Yajaira Castillo said her brother was not a gang member to be feared, but rather an everyday Venezuelan who had fled his country because of its economic crisis.

She broke down repeatedly during the conversation, crying as she described her pain and confusion around her brother’s situation.

“My brother is not a criminal,” she said. “This is all discrimination and xenophobia, just because he’s Venezuelan.”

Given that Mr. Castillo had spent such little time in the United States, she questioned how the U.S. government could have determined that he was a member of the Tren de Aragua, or was worthy of such harsh treatment.

After he entered the United States, officials suspected Mr. Castillo of being a member of the gang because of his tattoos, according to two people familiar with his case who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

He did not admit to being a part of the criminal group. Later, officials assessed his tattoos and interviewed him, and they found that he did not appear to have ties with the Tren de Aragua, the people said.

In an initial email, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said that Mr. Castillo was in the United States illegally and had final deportation orders issued by a federal judge.

“This administration abides by the rule of law,” said the spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin. “During further assessment, intelligence officers could not definitively determine whether the individual is or is not a confirmed member of TDA,” or Tren de Aragua. “He may very well be a member of this vicious gang. He may not be.”

In a follow-up message, Ms. McLaughlin said that the department had received new information that Mr. Castillo was a member of the gang. She did not provide evidence.

“TDA is a pathetic gang for human trafficking, drug trafficking and kidnap for ransom among other heinous crimes,’’ Ms. McLaughlin said. “The New York Times is more interested in writing sob stories about its disgusting members than justice for its victims.”

In the interview, Mr. Castillo’s sister shared a screenshot that indicated that he had not tried to evade authorities when he entered the country. The image included details of an appointment her brother had secured to present himself at the border to claim asylum on Jan. 19 at 7 a.m.

The Biden administration had set up a system for migrants to make these claims and enter the United States legally through an app called CBP One. Mr. Trump ended the program on Jan. 21.

Over the last week, the United States government has sent more than 80 men to Guantánamo Bay as part of larger plan by the Trump administration to hold as many as 30,000 migrants at the Naval base. So far, all the detainees are believed to be Venezuelans. Some are being held in a prison building on the base, while others are detained at the Migrant Operations Center, a dormitory-style facility. (Mr. Castillo is being held at the migrant center, according to D.H.S.)

U.S. troops are building a tent camp at the site in an effort to vastly expand its capacity to hold detained migrants.

The Pentagon has described the first few Guantánamo arrivals as “high-threat illegal aliens” and their detention at the base as “a temporary measure.” But the administration has not released any details proving the men have criminal records or described how officials determined they were a threat.

Mr. Castillo is believed to be among the first 10 men who were sent there from El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 4, because his sister recognized him in a photograph of migrants being sent to Guantánamo that was published on social media by Kristi Noem, the new head of the Department of Homeland Security.

The image, in which Mr. Castillo’s head is bowed low and an officer in camouflage and gloves holds his back, was later shared widely on social media. Ms. Castillo happened upon it on TikTok.

The Tren de Aragua, a multinational group born in Venezuela’s Aragua state, has expanded to other parts of Latin America and as far as the United States. The Trump administration recently began the process of designating the group as a foreign terrorist organization.

Mr. Castillo has a Michael Jordan tattoo on his neck, which his sister believes border authorities took as a sign that he was a member of the gang. In one of the last messages he sent to her before detention, Mr. Castillo said that he had made it to the border and that officials “treated him badly because of the tattoos,” she said.

Ronna Rísquez, a Venezuelan investigative journalist who has written a book about the criminal group, said the authorities would be wrong to assume that someone with a Michael Jordan tattoo is a member.

Some individuals in the Tren de Aragua might wear the symbol, she said, but this has more to do with the fact that basketball — which can be played with limited resources — has become enormously popular in poorer parts of Venezuela over the last few decades.

“The passion for Michael Jordan, because he is the ultimate symbol of basketball, has been around for generations,” she said.

Ms. Castillo said the tattoos were simply part of her brother’s look, which often included shorts and sneakers and Jordan gear. She shared a past photo of him wearing a sweatshirt with the “jumpman” logo associated with Mr. Jordan.

She said she believed her brother’s affinity for Mr. Jordan had turned him into a “guinea pig” for the Trump administration’s expanding deportation program.

Like many Venezuelans, Mr. Castillo had left his country years ago and was living in Colombia, washing cars. His sister said he was barely scraping by and had left for the United States in the hopes of making more money “to give everything to his son, to work and work for his son.”

His journey to the U.S. southern border began in late 2023, she said. With limited funds, it took him until January of this year to reach Texas. There, she said, he was apprehended by the authorities.

A review of public police records indicates that Mr. Castillo was not convicted of any crimes while in Colombia.

Mr. Castillo is the eighth of nine siblings; four live in Colombia and four others in Venezuela. He will turn 30 on Feb. 23.

The Guantánamo base is best known for its post-9/11 detention facility, operated by the Pentagon. It today holds 15 foreigners as wartime prisoners, separately from the Venezuelans being held there in migrant detention.

Ms. Castillo said she had known little about Guantánamo, only that it was “a high-danger cell for major terrorists” and that once sent there, prisoners “have no rights, that it’s for the worst criminals.”

All she wanted now for her brother, she said, “is for him to be returned.”

“I don’t want him in the hands of any government,” she continued. “What I want is for him to be returned to us.”

Carol Rosenberg contributed reporting from Florida and Simón Posada from Bogotá, Colombia.

Israel threatened to end the Gaza cease-fire

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, yesterday warned that “intense fighting” would resume in Gaza if Hamas did not release hostages by noon on Saturday. His statements closely echoed President Trump’s threats against Hamas on Monday after the Palestinian group said it would postpone releasing hostages.

Netanyahu did not specify how many hostages would have to be freed to stop a renewed war. Three hostages were scheduled to be released this week.

In Washington, Trump met with King Abdullah II of Jordan yesterday and insisted that the U.S. would “take” Gaza. He repeated that other countries in the region, namely Jordan and Egypt, should take in the Palestinians currently there. Egypt and Jordan rejected the idea when Trump raised it last week. Rather than pushing back directly, Abdullah said it would be best to consult with other Arab nations. Follow our coverage.

Aid: On the eve of Abdullah’s visit, Trump said he could cut aid to Jordan unless it took in Palestinians. Jordan receives more than $1.5 billion from the U.S. each year. Experts say that the survival of the king’s rule depends on his digging in against Trump’s plan.

Related: The Palestinian Authority announced that it would end payments to the families of Palestinians jailed or killed by Israel. Analysts saw the move as an attempt to curry favor with Trump and to bring much-needed foreign aid into Palestinian coffers.

More on Trump

Nations warn of retaliation over U.S. tariffs

Canada, Mexico and European countries denounced Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum as unfair and threatened yesterday to retaliate.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, said that his country would “be working with our international partners and friends” to pressure the Trump administration to hold off on the tariffs, which are set to go into effect on March 12. He also said he was ready to respond with countertariffs.

European leaders promised to react firmly but weren’t specific about what that response would look like. Mexican leaders called the tariffs “unjustifiable” and planned to appeal to Trump in a bid to fend them off.

Can European troops keep the peace in Ukraine?

The prospect of a peace deal for Ukraine is sure to be a focus this week at the annual Munich Security Conference, which Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to attend.

Experts say that deterring Russia from reinvading Ukraine once the war ends would require 150,000 troops and U.S. help with air cover, intelligence and missile defense. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has spoken of as many as 200,000 foreign troops on the ground. My colleague Steven Erlanger looked at the possibilities for European “boots on the ground.”

The highest-grossing movie ever in China is “Ne Zha 2,” an animated film about a demonic child that fights monsters. It is part of a trend in the world’s second-largest movie market: Domestic films with patriotic messages or roots in traditional culture are outperforming Hollywood hits.

Lives lived: Maria Teresa Horta, a feminist writer who helped shatter conservative Portugal’s strictures on women, died at 87.

Recapping New York Fashion Week

Fashion Week came to an end in New York City yesterday. Vanessa Friedman, our chief fashion critic, spoke to us about what she saw on, and off, the runway.

What defined this year’s NYFW?

Vanessa: The themes were, predictably, shaped by the current political moment; designers said they had started making their collections in one reality, and after the election, the looks started to change. That meant wrestling with questions of femininity — what does that look like when traditional gender definitions are resurgent? — as well as whether to wear your values on your sleeve (or your runway).

In terms of trends, there were a lot of over-the-knee boots and a lot of fringing. A more polished, tailored kind of sportswear is also staging a return. People want to feel pulled together when so much of life seems out of their control.

What got people talking?

The big news in New York was the return of Calvin Klein to the runway after almost seven years away. Klein defined a certain kind of American minimalism and suiting for decades; the brand is hoping to reclaim that territory and redefine American style under new designer Veronica Leoni. Her show was pretty loyal to the heritage — too loyal, really — but it did feel like the beginning of a new era.

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