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Hamas will delay the release of more Israeli captives planned for Saturday \u201cuntil further notice\u201d, due to Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Gaza, the Palestinian group says.<\/p>\n
Abu Obeida, the spokesperson of Hamas\u2019s armed wing \u2013 the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement on Monday that the captives will \u201cremain in place until the occupying entity complies with past obligations and compensates retroactively\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Israel and Hamas are in the middle of a six-week ceasefire during which Hamas is releasing dozens of the captives taken during its October 7, 2023, attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n
Abu Obeida said Israel had violated multiple parts of the truce brokered between the two sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past three weeks, the resistance leadership monitored the enemy\u2019s violations and their non-compliance with the terms of the agreement,\u201d he said, Al Jazeera reported.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese violations include delaying the return of displaced persons to\u00a0northern Gaza, targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Gaza Strip, and failing to allow the entry of relief materials in all forms as agreed upon. Meanwhile, the resistance has fulfilled all its obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Qassam Brigades spokesperson reaffirmed the group\u2019s \u201ccommitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation adheres to them\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s war minister Israel Katz swiftly responded to the Hamas move, saying that the decision was in \u201ccomplete violation of the ceasefire agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have instructed [the military] to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n
The two sides have carried out five swaps since the truce went into effect last month, freeing 21 Israelis and more than 730 Palestinians.<\/p>\n
The next exchange was scheduled for Saturday, releasing three Israeli captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n
Several Palestinian civilians have been\u00a0shot and killed\u00a0by Israeli forces as they returned to their homes.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the number of wounded Palestinian patients who were evacuated out of the Strip, as well as the humanitarian aid trucks that have entered Gaza, were fewer than what had been promised in the ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n
The announcement by the Qassam Brigades comes in light of the latest statements made by US President\u00a0Donald Trump, who has raised concerns about the sustainability of the ceasefire deal.<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly called for\u00a0ethnically cleansing\u00a0Gaza, saying that the United States would take \u201cownership\u201d of the territory.<\/p>\n
The first stage of the deal expires on March 1. The second phase, that would see the release of all captives and a permanent ceasefire, has not been finalized. The third part of the agreement is supposed to usher in a multiyear plan to reconstruct the territory.<\/p>\n
Palestinian activist and politician Mustafa Barghouti said Israel has violated the agreement in three ways: Obstructing temporary housing and humanitarian aid, shooting at people in Gaza and backing Trump\u2019s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than that, now Netanyahu is threatening to go back to the war, and he\u2019s declaring that he will never stop the war,\u201d Barghouti told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what do they want \u2013 to get back all Israeli prisoners and then continue the massacres in Gaza? This is exactly the message that Palestinians were getting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu reiterated last week that he is committed to fulfilling the aims of the war, including destroying Hamas\u2019s military and governing capabilities.<\/p>\n
Before Abu Obeida\u2019s statement on Monday, senior Hamas official\u00a0Basem Naim\u00a0told Al Jazeera that Israel has not been fulfilling its obligations under the agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last three weeks after signing the deal we have been in very serious talks and negotiations with the mediators \u2014 the Egyptians, the Qataris, and the United States \u2014 about the daily violations by the Israelis of the deal,\u201d Naim said.<\/p>\n
He said 25 Palestinians had been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli forces after the ceasefire went into effect.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n