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A Hamas official has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of \u201cintentionally sabotaging\u201d the Gaza ceasefire deal after Israel postponed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday, Basem Naim said Hamas would not engage in further ceasefire talks until Israel releases the 620 Palestinian prisoners who were meant to be freed on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step, which was releasing 620 prisoners, are already released,\u201d said Naim, a member of Hamas\u2019s political bureau.<\/p>\n
\u201cNetanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he is intentionally sabotaging the deal, he is preparing the atmosphere for returning back to the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel announced on Sunday that it had decided to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners who were set to be freed a day earlier in exchange for six Israeli captives held in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Israel and Hamas have conducted a series of captive-for-prisoner exchanges since a ceasefire deal came into effect in the Gaza Strip last month.<\/p>\n
While mediators have urged both sides to continue negotiations to reach the second phase of the agreement, observers have questioned whether Netanyahu is willing to advance to that next stage.<\/p>\n
Meron Rapoport, an editor at the Israeli news outlet Local Call, told Al Jazeera on Monday that Netanyahu intends to resume the Israeli war on Gaza but is likely to face strong opposition from the Israeli public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expectation from the families of the hostages [who remain in Gaza] is that all the hostages should be released,\u201d Rapoport said.<\/p>\n
Hamas is expected to release the bodies of four Israeli captives later this week as part of the ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n
Asked about that, as well as the future of the deal itself, Naim told Al Jazeera that \u201call options are on the table\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are the guarantees that [Netanyahu] might take the other four bodies and again not release the agreed-upon number of Palestinians plus the 620 Palestinians?\u201d the Hamas official asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll options are on the table, not only what should happen on Thursday but even the other elements of the deal.\u201d
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