Shorouk Express
Israel said it is halting the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners until Hamas assured the release of the next hostages without the “humiliating ceremonies”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office delayed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners for several hours, which was meant to immediately follow the release of six Israeli hostages from Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu’s office in a statement early on Sunday said Israel was waiting to deliver the Palestinian prisoners but wanted assurance of the “release of the next hostages” without what it called “humiliating ceremonies” in Gaza.
Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd, a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.
Hamas also made the hostages appear on stage and sometimes speak before handing them over to the Red Cross members. Coffins with hostage remains have also been carried through crowds.
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After the six hostages arrived back in Israel, Hamas released a video in which two other hostages, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, were seen watching one of the handovers earlier on Saturday.
Israel claimed the “ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes”.
Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, with spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou accusing Mr Netanyahu of “deliberately stalling” the release of Palestinian detainees.
Hamas rejected criticism of the handover events on Saturday, describing them as a solemn show of Palestinian unity. It handed over a sixth hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, a 36-year-old Arab citizen of Israel who reportedly struggles with mental health challenges, without a public ceremony.
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The Palestinian prisoners set for release include 50 serving life sentences, 60 with long sentences, 47 who were released under a previous hostage-for-prisoner exchange and 445 prisoners from Gaza arrested since the war began. Among them were five Palestinian journalists arrested since 7 October 2023 and 71-year-old Abdulrahman Saleh from Jenin, who suffers from impaired hearing and vision, Palestinian media reported.
Also on the list for release is Nael Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian detainee who has spent more than 40 years, or two-thirds of his life, behind bars.
Israel and Hamas have frequently accused each other of violations since the ceasefire started on 19 January but it has so far continued to hold. Hamas at one stage said it would stop handing over hostages because of alleged Israeli breaches.
The fresh bout of standoff comes after Hamas initially handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two young boys abducted by militants. Bibas and her two toddlers – one of them just eight months old – were killed in Gaza.
The correct remains were eventually handed over to Israel overnight on Friday.
