The armed wing of Hamas has postponed until further notice the planned release of Israeli hostages, which was supposed to take place on Saturday, the group’s spokesperson announced via Telegram.
Three days ago, Hamas released three hostages from Gaza, while Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the fifth prisoner exchange, which is taking place under a fragile truce that has lasted for three weeks.
However, the appearance of the three freed Israeli captives shocked the Israeli public and provoked anger and disbelief. On the other hand, many of the released Palestinian prisoners were also extremely thin, and seven out of the 43 had to be hospitalized, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.
Progress in the final stages of negotiations appears to be limited. Yesterday, it was reported that the Israeli delegation, which had traveled to Doha over the weekend for negotiations on the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, had returned to the country, while doubts about the process mediated by Egypt and Qatar continue to grow.
The spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, accused Israel of violating the agreement.
“Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has been monitoring enemy violations and non-compliance with the terms of the agreement, including the delay in allowing displaced persons to return to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, as well as their targeted shelling and firearm attacks,” Obeida said.
He added that “the handover of Zionist prisoners, who were supposed to be released on Saturday, February 15th, 2025, will be postponed until further notice until the occupation fulfills the conditions and retroactively compensates for the missed weeks.”
“We remain committed to the agreement, but only if the occupation fulfills its obligations,” Obeida stated.
