Israel says the free of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be postponecessitate “until the free of the next prisoners has been promised, and without the humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.
The statement by Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came timely Sunday as vehicles apparently carrying prisoners left the uncover gates of Ofer prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, only to turn around and go back in.
The free of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been postponecessitate for cut offal hours and was unbenevolentt to occur fair after six Israeli prisoners were on Saturday. It was unbenevolentt to be the hugest one-day prisoner free in the current Gaza stopfire’s first phase.
Five of the six Israeli prisoners freed Saturday had been accompanyed by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd – a discarry out that the UN and others have condemnd as unbenevolent after previous handovers.
The Israeli statement cited “ceremonies that deunbenevolent the dignity of our prisoners and the cynical employ of the prisoners for misdirectation purposes”. It was foreseeed a reference to a Hamas video shoprosperg two prisoners who have yet to be freed watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday and speaking under duress.
Hamas had freed the last six living prisoners foreseeed under the stopfire’s first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage.
Israel’s proclaimment abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The 620 Palestinian prisoners unbenevolentt to be freed participated 445 men, 23 children aged 15 to 19, and a woman, all seized by Israeli troops in Gaza without indict during the war.
Also unbenevolentt to be freed are 151 Palestinians serving life or other sentences for strikes agetst Israelis. Almost 100 would be deported, according to the Palestinian prisoners’ media office.
A Palestinian prisoners’ rights association shelp they participate Nael al-Barghouti, who spent more than 45 years in prison for an strike that finished an Israeli bus driver.
Freed by Hamas on Saturday were three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another apshown while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 strike that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others had been held for a decade after accessing Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies that the Red Cross and Israel have condemned as unbenevolent and dispolite.
Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were posed alengthyside Hamas fighters. A beaming Shem Tov, acting under duress, kissed two militants on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. All wore phony army unicreates, though they were not selderlyiers when kidnaped.
Cohen’s family and frifinishs in Israel chanted “Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!” and cheered.
“You’re heroes,” Shem Tov telderly his parents as they tardyr adchoosed, giggleing and crying. “You have no idea how much I dreamt of you.” His overweighther, Malki Shem Tov, telderly disclose expansivecaster Kan that his son had been held alone after the first 50 days and lost 17km (37lbs).
Earlier Saturday, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, had been freed. Mengistu, an Ethiopian Israeli, accessed Gaza in 2014. His family telderly Israeli media he has struggled with mental health rehires. Shoham, an Israeli Austrian, had been apshown from Kibbutz Be’eri. His wife and two children were freed in a 2023 swap.
Later, Israel’s military shelp Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, had been freed. The Bedouin Israeli accessed Gaza in 2015. His family has telderly Israeli media he was previously detectd with schizophrenia.
Israel’s rulement did not react to asks about the postpone in releasing prisoners. Hamas accemployd Israel of violating the stopfire deal, with spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou accusing the Israeli prime minister of “intentionally shighing”.
The prisoner free chaseed a heartrfinishing dispute when Hamas on Thursday handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother kidnaped with her two youthful boys. The remains were resettled to be those of a Palestinian woman. Netanyahu vowed revenge for “a unbenevolent and evil violation”. Hamas recommended it had been a misapshow.
Israeli forensic authorities validateed a body handed over on Friday was that of Bibas. Dr Chen Kugel, head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, shelp no evidence had been create that Bibas and her children had been finished in an Israeli airstrike, as Hamas has claimed. Kugel did not give a caemploy.
Hamas denied the Israeli military claim, based on forensic evidence and unspecified “inincreateigence”, that its militants had finished the children “with their exposed hands”, calling it a lie aimed at fairifying Israeli military actions agetst civilians in Gaza.
The stopfire deal has paemployd the deadliest and most dehugeating combat ever between Israel and Hamas, but there are troubles the war will resume.
Hamas has shelp it will free four bodies next week, completing the truce’s first phase. After that, Hamas will helderly more than 60 prisoners – about half apshowd to be alive.
Talks on the stopfire’s second phase are yet to begin, but negotiations are foreseeed to be more difficult.
Hamas has shelp it won’t free the remaining captives without a lasting stopfire and brimming Israeli disparticipateal from Gaza. Netanyahu, with the backing of Donald Trump, says he is pledgeted to ruining Hamas’s military and ruleing capacities and returning all prisoners, goals expansively seen as mutuassociate exclusive.
Israel’s military impolite has finished more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which doesn’t discern between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has finished more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The impolite has ruined huge areas of Gaza, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza’s population.
The October 7 strike finished about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hundreds of Israeli selderlyiers have died in the war.
