Hamas has said that they are delaying the release of more Israeli hostages planned for Saturday “until further notice,” due to Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.
The captives will “remain under Hamas captivity until the occupying forces comply with past obligations and compensate retroactively,” Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said in a statement issued on Monday.
Both Hamas and Israel are in the middle of a weeks-long ceasefire during which Hamas is expected to release dozens of Israeli captives taken during its October 7, 2023 assault inside Israel of 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
As the prisoner exchange is going on between the two sides, Abu Obeida said that Israel, over the past weeks, has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, which was brokered between the two sides over many months.
“Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership monitored the enemy’s violations and their non-compliance with the terms of the agreement,” he said.
“These violations include delaying the return of displaced persons to northern Gaza, targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Gaza Strip, and failing to allow the entry of relief materials in all forms as agreed upon. Meanwhile, the resistance has fulfilled all its obligations.”
Abu Obaieda said Hamas remains “committed to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation adheres to them.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, swiftly responded to Hamas’s move, saying that the decision was in “complete violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
“I have instructed [the military] to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza,” Katz said.
The two sides have so far carried out five swaps since the truce went into effect last month, freeing 21 Israelis and more than 730 Palestinians.
Credit: https://newsarenaindia.com/international/hamas-halts-israeli-hostage-release-over-ceasefire-violations/36238
