Hamas announced on Monday that it would postpone any further captive exchanges under a fragile Gaza ceasefire, accusing Israel of violations, while Israel said its military was readying for “any possible scenario”.
The ceasefire that went into effect on January 19 largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip and saw five groups of Israeli captives freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, although Israel has violated it several times, killing four people in Gaza on Sunday.
A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that the next hostage release, “which was scheduled for next Saturday, February 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice”, accusing Israel of failing to comply with the terms of the truce.
The spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said the resumption of hostage-prisoner exchanges was “pending the (Israeli) occupation’s compliance and retroactive fulfilment of the past weeks’ obligations”, without specifying.
“We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation adheres to them,” he said.
The statement was issued as negotiators were due to meet in the coming days in Qatar to discuss the implementation of the truce’s first 42-day phase, as well as potentially the next phases which have yet to be finalised.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed the Hamas announcement was a “complete violation” of the ceasefire agreement, signalling that fighting could resume.
“I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.
The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, has said that the organisation has delivered food aid to 1.2 million people in the last two weeks amid the Gaza ceasefire, despite increasing uncertainty as to whether it will hold.
During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said that the war on Gaza has not ended, noting the ceasefire is only temporary and his government will decide when it finishes.Â
