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Hamas said on Monday it would postpone the release of Israeli hostages planned for Saturday until further notice, accusing Israel of not sticking to a complex ceasefire agreement between the two sides.
The move comes amid a series of disputes threatening vulnerable deals, the latest and worst-case scenario, which came into effect three weeks ago, halting the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas.
Under the terms of the three-phase agreement, Hamas gradually released some of its Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
But despite five exchanges, Palestinian militants accused Israel of violating various other aspects of the deal.
It said Israel delayed the Palestinian return to Northern Gaza, opened fire in several areas and restricted humanitarian aid into the broken enclave.
As a result, Hamas said it will postpone the release of the next hostage until Israel “complies with the agreement and makes up for the past few weeks.”
But in the second statement a few hours later, Hamas appeared to soften its position slightly, saying it had made the announcement “intentionally” five days before the next exchange so that mediators could have time for “pressure” [Israel] to perform its obligations.”
Israeli Defense Minister Katz has called Hamas’ declaration “completely violated the ceasefire agreement” and said he has ordered the Israeli military to “prepare for any possible situation in the Gaza region and protect the communities of Israel in southern Israel.”
Over the past three weeks, both parties have alleged that the agreement violated the agreement, resulting in a brief delay in certain exchanges but did not derail the transaction.
But, one familiar with the situation says the latest spit is one of the worst problems to date. “It feels like everything is being questioned,” the person added.
In the first part of the deal, US-led mediators went on strike, and Hamas intends to release 33 Israeli hostages, including all children over 50, men and women.
By Saturday, it had released 21 in exchange for more than 700 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas also released five Thai workers who captured the workers who triggered the war in an October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The second phase of the deal, which is Hamas aims to free all remaining hostages of life – in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the entire Israeli evacuation from Gaza and the permanent end of the battle – will begin in March.
But the negotiations have not yet begun in details. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended with a huge pressure from his far-right allies to resume war – said last week that he would continue to fight until Hamas was destroyed, against the second The chances of the phase taking effect have created doubts.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced his hope that the U.S. will take over Gaza and resettle its population of more than 2MN elsewhere, a prospect that has also been questioned by a long-term deal.
This idea has aroused strong opposition from the Palestinians, the Arab world and the majority of the international community.
In an excerpt from an interview with Fox News that aired late Monday, Trump said Palestinians who left under his plan would not be entitled to return “because they will have better housing.” This contradicts the proposed placement will be temporary U.S. officials.
“I’m talking about building permanent places for them because if they have to return now… It’s not habitable,” he said. “Think of it as a future real estate development.”
Trump also repeated his claim that he would convince Egypt and Jordan to take over Palestinian refugees, which they repeatedly ruled out.
Other Western and Arab countries argue that once the war is over, the Palestinian Authority exercises limited control in parts of the West Bank – and should take over the governance of Gaza.
To mark the PA’s efforts to strengthen its international status, its President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on Monday overhauling the controversial system that paid benefits to the families of Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted attacks that resulted in the killing of Israel Human attack.
The United States and Israel have long criticized the system, saying it rewards violence against the Jewish state because payments are related to the length of time the prisoners spend in prison. Under the new system, benefits will be related to the financial needs of the family.
