Hamas says ‘door remains open’ for planned hostage release if Israel respects ceasefire

Militant group accuses Israel of breaching agreement ‘on a regular basis’

Hamas fighters in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza. The group has released 21 hostages since the Gaza ceasefire began, in exchange for 730 detained Palestinians. AFP

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Hamas said the “door remains open” for the militant group to release Israeli hostages under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal, if mediators put pressure on Israel to respect the agreement.

Hamas said it will delay the exchange of hostages planned for Saturday until further notice because of Israeli breaches of the truce.

US President Donald Trump warned “all hell would break out” if the captives were not freed by “Saturday at 12 o'clock”.

In a statement on Telegram released on Tuesday but dated on Monday, Hamas said the “door remains open for the exchange to proceed as planned if Israel abides by its obligations”. It added that it made the announcement five days before the scheduled release to give mediators time to put pressure on Israel to adhere to the terms of the truce.

Hamas accused Israel of breaching the agreement “on a regular basis” and called for strict adherence, rather than selectively complying to the terms.

The group said Israel delayed the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza. It also said the Israeli military shelled and shot at Gazans across the enclave, obstructed the entry of tents and machinery to remove rubble and delayed the delivery of medicine.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis are ready to launch attacks on Israel if it resumes attacks on Gaza and does not commit to the ceasefire deal, the group’s leader Abdulmalik Al Houthi said in a televised speech on Tuesday.

The group had attacked Israeli and other vessels in the Red Sea, disturbing global shipping lanes, in what they said were acts of solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians during Israel’s war on the enclave.

Israeli troops on Monday completed their withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor, which split the enclave in two, and hundreds of Palestinians began returning to their homes in the north. Hours after Israeli troops withdrew, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli troops on Sunday shot and killed three civilians in Gaza city.

“The postponement of the release of prisoners is a warning message to the occupation,” Hamas said.

The tension comes during the first phase of a fragile pause in the Gaza war and before talks on the second phase take place. Under the terms of the ceasefire, brokered by the Egypt, Qatar and the US, Israeli hostages are to be released in exchange for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

During the first six weeks of the truce, Hamas had agreed to release 33 hostages captured in the attack on October 7, 2023, in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Both sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire began on January 19, releasing 21 hostages and more than 730 jailed Palestinians.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas's plan to delay the next hostage release was “a complete violation” of the agreement, adding that he instructed the military to be at the highest level of alert. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hostage co-ordinator said the government intended to live up to its end of the deal.

Mr Netanyahu also moved up a security cabinet meeting, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli government faces renewed demands to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire deal, which observers say is far more complicated than the first phase because it calls for the release of all remaining hostages and extends the truce indefinitely. Hostage families have increased their pressure on authorities after the condition of the hostages released at the weekend raised concerns about the well-being of the remaining captives.

Hamas's announcement came as Mr Trump repeated his proposal to remove Palestinians from Gaza and have the US take ownership of the war-ravaged enclave, suggesting Gazans could be relocated to Jordan and Egypt. Amman and Cairo have repeatedly rejected the suggestion.