Hamas Warns Israel’s Delay in Prisoner Release Threatens Gaza Truce
GAZA STRIP: Hamas has accused Israel of putting the fragile five-week-old Gaza truce at risk by postponing the release of Palestinian prisoners. The group claims Israel’s handling of hostage exchanges has violated the agreement.
The initial phase of the ceasefire is set to expire in early March, yet negotiations for the next stage remain unresolved. Amid rising tensions, Israel announced an escalation of military activity in the occupied West Bank, marking a significant shift in its operations.
For the first time in two decades, an Israeli tank division has been deployed to the city of Jenin. Since the truce took effect on January 19, Hamas has released 25 Israeli hostages in public ceremonies, with masked fighters escorting them onto stages displaying political slogans. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized these events, calling them “humiliating ceremonies.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross has urged both parties to ensure that hostage transfers are conducted in a “dignified and private” manner.
In the most recent exchange on Saturday, Hamas freed six Israeli captives. However, Israel delayed its planned release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners, triggering strong condemnation from Hamas.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim warned that this postponement could endanger the entire truce agreement. He called on mediators, particularly the United States, to pressure Israel into adhering to the terms of the deal and immediately releasing Palestinian detainees.
Despite both sides accusing each other of violating the truce, the ceasefire has so far remained intact. Netanyahu’s office defended Israel’s decision to delay the prisoner release, citing Hamas’s “repeated violations,” including its public handling of hostages, which Israel claims has been used as a propaganda tool.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, intensified military actions by Israeli forces have led to the displacement of approximately 40,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations. Families of Palestinian prisoners, including those in Gaza’s Khan Yunis, anxiously awaited their loved ones’ release, uncertain about Israel’s next move.
Among them was 80-year-old Umm Diya al-Agha, who had been informed that her son—imprisoned for 33 years—was due to be freed. “If my heart were made of iron, it would have melted and shattered. Every day, I have been waiting for this moment,” she said.
Saturday’s release of six Israelis marked the final group of living hostages freed under the truce’s first phase. During a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, captives Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert were seen waving from a stage, flanked by Hamas fighters, before being handed over to the Red Cross.
The next steps in the ceasefire agreement remain uncertain, with both sides continuing to clash over the terms of future exchanges.
