So far, 16 out of 33 hostages scheduled for release in the current phase of the agreement have been freed by Hamas, and 656 Palestinian prisoners from a list of nearly 2,000 have been released by Israel. But the weekly exchanges may now be disrupted after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement and said it would postpone Saturday’s hostage release “until further notice.”
Israel has hit back, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying late Tuesday that the Gaza ceasefire will end if Hamas does not release hostages as planned on Saturday.
“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is completely defeated,” he said in a video statement.
US President Donald Trump, whose envoy helped mediate the agreement along with officials from Egypt and Qatar, has suggested dismissing the multi-staged approach of the deal altogether and giving Hamas an ultimatum to release all the hostages at once.
While some Israeli politicians have endorsed Trump’s ultimatum, Netanyahu has not explicitly agreed to it – instead issuing an ambiguous statement.
In his statement on Tuesday, he “welcomed President Trump’s demand,” but didn’t specify how many hostages should be released.
“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will return to intense fighting until Hamas is completely defeated,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
Here’s what each side is saying, and where the deal could go from here:
On Monday, Hamas threatened to postpone the next hostage release, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire deal by targeting Palestinians with gunfire in various parts of Gaza, delaying the return of displaced people to the heavily bombarded north, and not allowing the agreed humanitarian aid to enter the enclave.
The militant group also accused Israel of delaying the entry of essential medicines and hospital supplies, as well as not allowing tents, prefabricated houses, fuel, or rubble-removing machines into Gaza.
On Tuesday, the Gaza health ministry said that 92 people in the enclave had been killed in Israeli military operations since the ceasefire came into effect.
CNN has asked Israeli authorities for comment on the allegations regarding casualties.
A diplomat with knowledge of the ceasefire talks told CNN that the United Nations, Qatar and other countries had requested to deliver temporary shelters to Gaza but Israel turned them down.
Aid agencies say that delivery of aid needs to be accelerated. Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday that “humanitarian needs remain huge. We’re still not seeing the scale up of aid needed.”
The World Food Programme says it hopes to double the amount of bread being provided in northern Gaza within the next few days. However, it said that there is still not enough food inside Gaza to meet the immense needs, and a massive influx of humanitarian and commercial food products is needed.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, said in a social media post on Monday: “We affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them.”
In a later statement, Hamas added that there was still an opportunity for the release to go forward as planned, saying that Israel has sufficient time “to fulfill its obligations.”
Hamas’ postponement is a “complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday.
The Israeli agency responsible for enabling aid to enter Gaza, COGAT, told CNN Tuesday that Hamas’ claims about ceasefire violations were completely false, adding that hundreds of thousands of tents have entered Gaza since the beginning of the agreement, as well as fuel, and generators.
Katz said he instructed the military to “prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza.” The Israeli military also said it was raising the level of readiness in southern Israel and that it would reinforce the area to enhance its “readiness for various scenarios.”
And Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Tuesday his country is “prepared for the fact that Hamas may try to attack Israel.”
Those announcements also come after Israeli forces opened fire on Sunday in the eastern areas of Gaza City, close to the Gaza border, killing three Palestinians, Palestinian authorities said. The incident happened close to the border fence near Nahal Oz, an Israeli kibbutz, or agricultural commune. Following that incident, Katz said: “Anyone who enters the buffer zone, their blood is on their own head – zero tolerance for anyone who threatens IDF (Israel Defense Forces) forces or the fence area and communities.”
Doubts about the future of the deal also follow Israel’s condemnation of the gaunt, frail appearance of the hostages released last week as “shocking.” Many of the remaining Israeli hostages are believed to be in even worse condition, Israeli government officials told CNN on Tuesday.
