Israel Is Postponing The Release Of 620 Palestinians After Hamas Released The Last Six Hostages
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Feb. 23 that it is postponing the release until Hamas releases the next hostages without “the humiliating ceremonies”.
Israel is postponing the release of 620 Palestinian detainees following Hamas’ release of the last six hostages to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday, Feb. 23, that Israel is postponing the release of 620 Palestinians that was due to be released on Saturday, Feb. 22 until Hamas releases the next hostages without “the humiliating ceremonies”.
Hamas has released the last six living Israeli hostages on Feb. 22 that were due to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire and it should release the bodies of four hostages on the next week, according to Reuters.
Hamas said on Sunday that Netanyahu is playing “dirty games” to “sabotage” the ceasefire deal, adding that this is a “blatant violation” of the deal, according to Al Jazeera.
“The prisoner handover ceremony does not include any insult to them, but rather reflects the noble humane treatment of them,” Hamas said.
Each phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas should last for six weeks.
The first phase which began on Jan. 19, included Hamas's release of 33 hostages in exchange for Israel's release of about 2,000 Palestinians and it should end on March. 1.
The second and third phases of the agreement, which are understood to be agreed to in principle, were set to be discussed during the initial six weeks of phase one.
However, Hamas said that Israel is not engaging in the negotiations.
In addition, Israel has killed at least 119 Palestinians in Gaza, with an average of six people killed daily, and injured more than 901 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported.
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