Gaza militant group Hamas appears to have reversed its earlier decision to temporarily halt the release of Israeli hostages, as it announced it will release Israeli hostages this weekend as initially planned.
Israel and Hamas had been locked in a dispute over the Gaza ceasefire, with the spat threatening to derail an agreement that brought an end to over a year of fighting and with the following steps still to be resolved.
Israeli officials declined to immediately confirm that Israel will abide by the terms of the ceasefire if Hamas releases three hostages as planned. Still, they are optimistic that a deal will be reached to avert the collapse of the ceasefire agreement.
“Seems it will be resolved,” one Israeli official said, adding there is no appetite in Israeli government leadership to abandon the ceasefire agreement at this time.
The militant group had postponed the release of more hostages this weekend, accusing Israel of violating the truce.
In response, Israel warned it would return to fighting.
After talks with key mediators Egypt and Qatar, Hamas said that the releases – which will see Palestinian prisoners exchanged in return – will go ahead.
“Hamas confirms its continued position to implement the deal according to what was signed, which includes exchanging prisoners according to the specified timetable,” a statement by the militant group said.
“A positive spirit characterised the talks,” the statement said, adding that Egypt and Qatar affirmed they would work to “remove obstacles and fill gaps.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not responded to Hamas’ statement, which also comes amid continued fallout over US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to relocate Gaza’s residents and redevelop the territory.
Trump has suggested dismissing the multi-staged approach of the ceasefire deal altogether and giving Hamas an ultimatum to release all the hostages at once.
While Netanyahu welcomed Trump’s demand, he hasn’t explicitly agreed to it – instead issuing an ambiguous statement, saying Hamas must “return our hostages by Saturday noon” – without giving a figure – or the military “will return to intense fighting until Hamas is completely defeated.”
Prime Minister’s Office Spokesman David Mencer said Thursday that while the return of all hostages is a key war objective, Israel will end the ceasefire in Gaza if three live hostages are not released on Saturday by noon local time.
“There is a framework in place for the release of our hostages. There are important markers; there are important steps in this framework. That framework makes clear that three live hostages must be released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday,” Mencer told reporters.
So far, 16 out of 33 Israeli hostages scheduled for release in the current phase of the agreement have been freed by Hamas, and Israel has released 656 Palestinian prisoners from a list of nearly 2,000.
In its statement on Thursday, Hamas said mediators pledged to follow up on its demands for Israel to allow the entry of housing supplies, medical equipment, fuel, and relief aid. The group also said mediators confirmed they would “remove obstacles” to resuming the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian source with knowledge of the matter has alleged Israel has committed numerous violations of the ceasefire.
The source shared with CNN a detailed list of 19 alleged violations by Israel. These include restrictions on the delivery of aid and reconstruction material and equipment, firing at and killing civilians, and 105 incidents of surveillance aircraft spotted during the agreed no-fly periods.
Twenty-two people were killed and 59 others injured by Israeli fire outside the buffer zone separating Gaza and Israel. Israeli military vehicles ventured into the area adjacent to the Philadelphi corridor, which divides Egypt and Gaza, daily, according to the list shared by the Egyptian source.
President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday.
COGAT, the Israeli agency that manages policy for the Palestinian territories, told CNN that Israel is committed to fulfilling its obligation to allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza daily.
“As part of this, since the beginning of the agreement, more than 15,000 humanitarian aid trucks have entered Gaza. The trucks contain food, water, fuel and gas, medicine and medical equipment, and tents and shelter equipment,” it said. “According to our data, since the agreement took effect, hundreds of thousands of tents have entered the Strip. Additionally, tractors have been brought into the Strip by the agreement.”
Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are key mediators in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
The source cast doubt on Israel’s commitment to the truce, noting the delay in negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire and the “prohibitive and unacceptable conditions” set by the negotiating parties.
