Hamas says negative Gaza ceasefire talks except Israel frees prisoners


Getty Images Palestinian children walk past destroyed buildings and makeshift shelters in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Getty Pictures

Hamas says talks with Israel about additional steps within the Gaza ceasefire offer are conditional on Palestinian prisoners being freed as yes.

Israel mentioned on Sunday it used to be delaying the reduce of greater than 600 Palestinians in go back for 6 dwelling and 4 useless hostages who were freed, accusing Hamas of repeated violations together with “humiliating” serve ceremonies.

A senior Hamas authentic mentioned the verdict uncovered all of the word of honour to “grave danger” and known as on mediators, particularly america, to power Israel.

The offer’s first segment and brief six-week truce is ready to run out on Saturday however oblique negotiations on the second one segment and an finish to the conflict have now not but begun.

UN Secretary Normal António Guterres warned that the ceasefire used to be “precarious” and {that a} resumption of hostilities will have to be have shyed away from in any respect prices.

He often known as for the “dignified release of all remaining hostages”.

On Saturday – the beginning of the 6th and ultimate pace of the ceasefire offer’s first segment – Hamas excepted six dwelling Israeli hostages.

As with lots of the earlier yields, 5 of them had been led onto levels beside armed warring parties prior to being transferred to the Crimson Pass and nearest taken to Israel.

Next, Hamas posted a video of 2 alternative hostages in a automobile looking at one of the vital serve ceremonies and showing to plead with Israeli High Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get them out too. A discussion board representing the hostages’ households condemned the video as a “sickening display of cruelty”.

There used to be already rage in Israel later Hamas returned the our bodies of 4 hostages previous within the pace, together with the ones of Shiri Bibas and her two younger sons Ariel and Kfir, who had been kidnapped all the way through the 7 October 2023 assaults on Israel.

It emerged on Friday that Hamas had passed over the remainder of a Palestinian lady instead than the ones of Ms Bibas. The gang mentioned there were a mistake and transferred Ms Bibas’s frame then that age.

Israeli government additionally mentioned a autopsy had proven that Ariel and Kfir’s captors killed the lads “with their bare hands”, contradicting Hamas’s declare that they died in an Israeli breeze collision.

Israel used to be scheduled to separate 620 Palestinian prisoners in trade for the ten hostages. Greater than 400 had been Gazans detained by way of Israeli forces all the way through the conflict, time 50 of the prisoners had been serving past sentences in Israeli jails.

They’d reportedly already aboard buses at a jail within the swamped West Vault when the layout got here to droop their reduce time Netanyahu consulted ministers.

Within the early hours of Sunday, the top minister’s workplace mentioned the reduce could be suspense “in light of Hamas’s repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes”.

“It has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies.”

Hamas says negative Gaza ceasefire talks except Israel frees prisonersReuters Israeli hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert stand beside armed Palestinian fighters during a handover ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza (22 February 2025)Reuters

Israeli hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert had been paraded by way of armed warring parties on a degree in Nuseirat prior to being passed over to the Crimson Pass

Hamas – which is limited as a terrorist organisation by way of Israel, america, UK and alternative international locations – denounced Israel’s determination as a “blatant violation” of the offer and warned US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators that there might be negative talks on extending the ceasefire till the prisoners had been excepted.

“We have conveyed a clear and strong message to the mediators – we cannot continue discussing any further steps if these 620 Palestinians are not released,” Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim mentioned in an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday.

Requested if the scheduled reduce of the our bodies of any other 4 Israeli hostages on Thursday might be affected, he responded that “all options are on the table”.

“Before going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step [will happen],” he added.

“Netanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he is intentionally sabotaging the deal, he is preparing the atmosphere for returning back to the war. Therefore, what are the guarantees that he might take the other four bodies and again not release the agreed-upon number of Palestinians, plus the 620 Palestinians?”

Naim mentioned Hamas had mentioned Israel’s lawsuits in regards to the hostage serve ceremonies, however denied they’d been humiliating and alleged that Israeli government had mistreated Palestinian prisoners prior to they had been excepted.

The White Space subsidized Israel’s determination to prolong the prisoner reduce, pronouncing it used to be an “appropriate response” to what it known as the “barbaric treatment” of hostages by way of Hamas.

However President Donald Trump’s Center East envoy, Steve Witkoff, mentioned he would walk to the area this pace with the attempt of having “an extension of phase one”.

“We’re hopeful that we have the proper time… to begin phase two, and finish it off and get more hostages released,” he instructed CNN on Sunday.

Hamas says negative Gaza ceasefire talks except Israel frees prisonersEPA Palestinians wait for the release of their relatives from Israeli prisons, at a culture centre in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank (23 February 2025)EPA

Palestinians had been ready in Ramallah for the prisoners early on Sunday when Israeli government behind schedule their reduce

A complete of 33 Israeli hostages are meant to be exchanged for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza all the way through the ceasefire offer’s first segment.

Thus far, 25 dwelling hostages and 4 useless hostages were excepted, time the our bodies of the terminating 4 hostages are scheduled to be passed over this pace. 5 dwelling Thai hostages have additionally been freed out of doors the offer.

The word of honour has additionally perceivable Israeli forces pull out of densely populated fields of Gaza. Loads of hundreds of displaced Palestinians were allowed to go back to their houses within the north and loads of backup lorries at the moment are being allowed into the dimension every age.

The ceasefire’s 2nd segment must see the too much hostages excepted, a complete Israeli withdrawal and an everlasting ceasefire.

The Israeli army introduced a marketing campaign to spoil Hamas based on an exceptional cross-border assault on 7 October 2023, wherein about 1,200 family had been killed and 251 had been taken hostage.

A minimum of 48,346 family were killed in Gaza since nearest, consistent with the dimension’s Hamas-run fitness ministry.

Maximum of Gaza’s society has additionally been displaced a couple of occasions, virtually 70% of constructions are estimated to be broken or destroyed, the healthcare, aqua, sanitation and hygiene methods have collapsed, and there are shortages of meals, gas, medication and safe haven.

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