The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas faces a major setback as Hamas has declared that it will not engage in further negotiations unless Israel releases the agreed-upon 620 Palestinian prisoners. The statement comes in response to Israel’s decision to delay the prisoner release, accusing Hamas of repeatedly violating the terms of the deal, including staging what it called “humiliating” handover ceremonies of Israeli hostages.
The six-week ceasefire agreement, currently in its final days, was structured in multiple phases, with the release of hostages and prisoners forming a key component of the first phase. While Hamas has released 25 living Israeli hostages and returned the bodies of four deceased hostages so far, the group maintains that Israel is failing to uphold its part of the agreement. The latest dispute emerged when Israeli authorities halted the release of Palestinian prisoners who had already boarded buses in the occupied West Bank, citing Hamas’s repeated violations of the agreement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that the release would be postponed until Hamas provides assurances that future hostage handovers will be conducted without what Israel perceives as exploitation for propaganda.
The controversy over the hostages’ treatment escalated after Hamas posted a video of two hostages in a vehicle, appearing to plead with Netanyahu for their release. The forum representing hostages’ families condemned the video as an act of psychological warfare. Anger in Israel was further fueled when Hamas mistakenly handed over the remains of a Palestinian woman instead of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas, before later rectifying the error. Israeli authorities also accused Hamas of misleading statements regarding the deaths of Bibas’s two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, stating that an autopsy revealed they were killed by their captors, contradicting Hamas’s claim that they had died in an Israeli airstrike.
Hamas has rejected Israel’s accusations and accused Netanyahu of intentionally sabotaging the ceasefire deal to justify a return to war. The group warned that the failure to release Palestinian prisoners could derail the agreement entirely. Senior Hamas official Basem Naim stated that no further discussions could take place unless Israel follows through with the promised releases, telling Al Jazeera that “all options are on the table” regarding the fate of the remaining hostages.
The ceasefire, which has seen Israeli forces withdraw from some areas of Gaza and allowed humanitarian aid to flow in, was meant to facilitate further negotiations for a long-term truce. However, indirect talks on the next phase of the deal have not yet begun. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern over the situation, calling the ceasefire “precarious” and urging both sides to avoid a return to hostilities. The White House has backed Israel’s decision to delay the prisoner release, calling it a justified response to Hamas’s treatment of hostages. Meanwhile, US envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to the region in an effort to extend the ceasefire and push forward negotiations for the next phase.
The ceasefire deal initially outlined that 33 Israeli hostages would be exchanged for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza. So far, only a portion of that agreement has been carried out, leaving uncertainty over whether the second phase will proceed as planned. The situation remains tense as both sides accuse each other of violating the agreement, raising fears of renewed conflict.
The Israeli military launched its campaign against Hamas following the October 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages. In retaliation, Israel has carried out extensive military operations in Gaza, with the Hamas-run health ministry reporting over 48,000 casualties since the start of the war. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened, with most of the population displaced multiple times, severe shortages of food, medicine, and shelter, and essential infrastructure in collapse. The fate of the ceasefire remains uncertain as tensions between Israel and Hamas continue to escalate.
