Hamas to halt release of hostages, citing ceasefire violations by Israel

Hamas' Abu Ubaida accuses Israel of delaying Palestinian return, shelling Gaza, and blocking relief since January 19

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Palestinian militant group Hamas announced on Monday it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what it said were Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.

In reply, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas had violated the ceasefire agreement with its announcement and that he had instructed the military to prepare at the highest level of readiness in Gaza and to defend Israeli communities.

Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for Hamas' military wing, said that since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19, Israel had delayed allowing displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, targeted Gazans with military shelling and gunfire and had stopped relief materials entering the territory.

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.

Ubaida said Hamas would not release any more hostages until Israel "complies and compensates for the past weeks".

Another exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners was scheduled to take place on Saturday.

Hostage release

So far, 16 of the 33 hostages to be released in the first 42-day phase of the deal 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.

But Hamas has accused Israel of dragging its feet on allowing aid into Gaza, one of the conditions of the first phase of the agreement, a charge Israel has rejected as untrue.

In turn, Israel has accused Hamas of not respecting the order in which the hostages were to be released and of orchestrating abusive public displays before large crowds when they have been handed over to the Red Cross.

Earlier, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said an Israeli delegation had returned from ceasefire talks in Qatar, amid already growing doubts over the Egyptian and Qatari-brokered process to end the war.

There were no immediate details on the reason for the return from the talks, which are intended to agree the basis for a second stage of the multi-phase ceasefire agreement and hostage-for-prisoner exchange reached last month.

A Palestinian official close to the discussions said progress was being held up by mistrust between the two sides, which have accused each other of breaching the terms of the ceasefire.

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 the postwar future.

Fox News on Monday released an excerpt of an interview with Trump. Asked about the plan and whether Palestinians would have the right of return, he answered: "No, they wouldn't".

"I'm talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it’ll be years before you could ever – it's not habitable." He said he thought he could make a deal with Egypt and Jordan to take them.

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.

Talks on a second stage of the ceasefire deal, 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.

"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.

Israeli public opinion 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.