CNN
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Hamas has said the next hostage release scheduled to take place in Gaza on Saturday will be postponed “until further notice,” accusing Israel of breaking the ceasefire deal.
Israel described the postponement as a “complete violation of the ceasefire” and called on the Israeli military to prepare for “any possible scenario” in Gaza.
In a post on X, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said that the handover of the prisoners “who were scheduled to be released next Saturday … will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits to and compensates for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively.”
He added: “We affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them.”
Abu Obeida detailed various alleged violations of the agreement by Israel over the past three weeks, including “delaying the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Strip, and not allowing the entry of relief supplies in all their forms according to what was agreed upon.”
In response to Hamas’ announcement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the country’s military to “prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza.”
The defense minister described Hamas’ postponement as a “complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages.”
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently holding consultations with his security leadership team, an Israeli official told CNN.
A political-security cabinet meeting initially scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday local time is also being moved up to the morning hours due to Hamas’ announcement that it is postponing the next hostage release, the official said.
The families of hostages still held in Gaza have requested urgent assistance from mediating countries to “help restore and implement” the ceasefire deal.
The Monday statement from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum did not specify which nations the group were engaging with. The January hostage deal was primarily mediated by the United States and Qatar.
“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 76 brothers and sisters,” the statement from the forum said.
“Recent evidence from those released, as well as the shocking conditions of the hostages released last Saturday, leaves no room for doubt,” the statement continued. “Time is of the essence, and all hostages must be urgently rescued from this horrific situation.”
Hamas and Israel have each accused the other of violating their side of the agreement throughout the first phase of the deal, raising questions about whether the ceasefire that took more than 15 months will hold.
Hamas released three hostages on Saturday in the latest hostage exchange since a ceasefire went into effect on January 19.
In exchange, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners, of whom 18 were serving life sentences. The majority had been detained in Gaza since October 7 and had no public charges against them.
Hamas has now released a total of 16 Israeli hostages as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, of a total of 33 promised at staggered intervals during this stage. Eight of those 33 are dead, according to the Israeli government.
Following the release of the three hostages on Saturday, Hamas and its allies still hold a total of 73 people taken from Israel on October 7, 2023, of 251 initially taken. Three additional hostages, held captive since 2014, are still in Gaza.
Under an agreement signed in Qatar last month, negotiations to begin a second phase were supposed to begin on Monday.
Earlier Monday, the Hamas-run Gaza Government Media Office said Israel had refused to allow the entry of shelter supplies specified in the ceasefire agreement
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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