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Hamas says it is suspending the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza – leaving a ceasefire agreed with Israel to end 15 months of war inside Gaza on a knife edge.
Israel and Hamas are in the middle of a six-week truce during which Hamas is releasing dozens of the hostages captured in its attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 prisoners. Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating the terms of the ceasefire. The Israeli public was shocked by the emaciated appearance of Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, the three hostages who were released on Saturday, which has complicated progress on the deal. Many Palestinian prisoners released to Ramallah hours after the Israelis were freed also looked extremely thin, and seven out of 43 needed hospital treatment, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said.
The next exchange was scheduled for Saturday, releasing three Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of systematically violating the ceasefire agreement over the past three weeks, and said Saturday’s release would be delayed.
“The resistance leadership has closely monitored the enemy’s violations and its failure to uphold the terms of the agreement,” he said.
“This includes delays in allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, targeting them with air strikes and gunfire across various areas of the Strip, and failing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid as agreed.”
In response, a statement from the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said: “Hamas’ announcement to stop releasing Israeli hostages is a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages.
“I have instructed the [Israeli military] to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza and to protect the communities.
“We will not allow a return to the reality of 7 October.”
The ceasefire has largely held over the past three weeks, although there have been some incidents where Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire. The flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza has increased since the ceasefire, aid agencies say.
The families of the hostages still held inside Gaza have feared an end to the ceasefire before the captives were fully released. In a statement, a group representing a majority of the families urged mediators Qatar, the US and Egypt to get the deal back on track.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said: “In response to Hamas’s recent announcement, we have urgently requested assistance from the mediating countries to help restore and implement the existing deal effectively. We stand with the Israeli government and encourage maintaining the conditions that will ensure the successful continuation of the agreement, leading to the safe return of our brothers and sisters.
“Recent evidence from those released, as well as the shocking conditions of the hostages released last Saturday, leaves no room for doubt – time is of the essence, and all hostages must be urgently rescued from this horrific situation.”
Earlier in the day, the office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said than an Israeli delegation that flew to Doha for talks on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire at the weekend has returned, amid growing doubts over the process to end the war in Gaza.
The war was triggered by an attack by attack by Hamas on 7 October, during which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken captive. Israel’s retaliatory offensive inside Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry, and laid waste to the territory home to 2.3 million people, who face severe shortages of medicine, fuel and food.
There were no immediate details on the reason for the return of the Israeli delegation from the talks, which are intended to agree the basis for a second stage of a multi-phase ceasefire agreement and hostage-for-prisoner exchange reached last month. A Palestinian official close to the discussions told Reuters that progress was being held up by a lack of confidence between the two sides.
“There is a sense of mistrust, especially as Hamas sees a lack of implementation of the first phase of the deal when it comes to the humanitarian protocol and the allowing of the materials into Gaza as per the agreement,” the official said.
US president Donald Trump’s statements that Palestinians should be moved out of Gaza, leaving the coastal enclave to be developed as a waterfront real estate project under US control have upended expectations for what comes after the war. Less than a week after he floated his plan to turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East”, Mr Trump, in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that was set to air on Monday, doubled down on those comments – which sparked outrage across the Arab world and Europe – claiming that Palestinians would not have the right to return to Gaza if they left.
“No, they wouldn’t” when asked if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory. Mr Trump’s comments contradict other officials in his administration who have sought to argue he was only calling for the temporary relocation of Gaza’s population.
Palestinians have long been haunted by what they call the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when 700,000 of them were dispossessed from their homes during the war that surrounded the creation of Israel in 1948. Many were driven out or fled to neighbouring Arab states, including to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, where many of them and their descendants still live in refugee camps. Some went to Gaza. Israel disputes the account that they were forced out.
Mr Netanyahu endorsed Trump’s comments when he returned from a visit to Washington at the weekend, causing irritation in Egypt, where security sources said Israel was “putting up roadblocks” to the smooth progress of the ceasefire deal, including delays to withdrawal of its troops and continuing aerial surveillance.
The first six-week stage of the ceasefire, which began on 19 January, was to see 33 Israeli hostages exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and Israeli forces pull back from positions in Gaza.
The talks on a second stage, to agree the release of the remaining hostages and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces began last week but have shown little sign of serious progress.
So far, 16 of the 33 hostages to be released have come home, as well as five Thai hostages who were returned in an unscheduled release. In exchange, Israel has released hundreds of prisoners and detainees, ranging from prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks to Palestinians detained during the war and held without charge.
The UN human rights office has described images of both emaciated Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees released over the weekend as distressing
“The images we have seen of Israeli hostages released over the weekend show signs of ill-treatment and severe malnourishment, reflecting very dire conditions they were subjected to in Gaza,” Thameen Al-Kheetan, UN human rights office spokesperson, said in a statement on Monday.
“We are also deeply concerned by the public parading of hostages released by Hamas in Gaza, including statements apparently made under duress during release.”
He referred to Hamas-directed handover ceremonies attended by large crowds in the Gaza Strip in which hostages were flanked by militants armed with automatic rifles.
Mr Al-Kheetan said the appearance of Palestinian detainees pointed to the “severe conditions” in which they were held in Israel. He also voiced serious concern about the manner in which Palestinian detainees had been released, but did not provide details.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
