Israel delays release of 620 Palestinian prisoners due to Hamas' ‘cruel’ hostage exchange

Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners over the "humiliating ceremonies" that the Israeli hostages have received at the time of handover in Gaza, with Tel Aviv now asking for an assurance of the release of next set of captives.

According to The Associated Press, vehicles carrying several hundreds of prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prisoner, but later returned and went back in.

As many as 620 Palestinian prisoners were set to be released in exchange for the six Israeli hostages on Saturday, making it as the largest number of prisoners to be released in one day since the ceasefire deal came into effect.

Masked and armed Hamas militants escorted five of the six hostages in front of a gathering on Saturday, an act which has been widely condemned and described as 'cruel' by the United Nations and others.

Israel made an apparent reference to the Hamas video of two hostages speaking under seeming pressure. The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office early Sunday noted the "ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes".

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With just a week left for the initial stage of the ceasefire agreement, Israel's announcement may have abruptly placed the future of the truce in danger.

‘Israel deliberately stalling’

Hamas released the last six living hostages under the terms of a ceasefire deal, of these three were Israeli men who were taken captive from the Nova music festival and another was taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.

The other two hostages were those had been held by Hamas in Gaza for a decade after the entered the region of their own will.

In the staged ceremonies, Hamas handed over the five of them to the Red Cross, with Israel describing it as cruel and disrespectful.

Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were standing next to the Hamas fighters at the time of the release, with Shem Tov killing two militants on the head and blowing kisses to the crowd under stress.

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After them, Tal Sham and Avera Mengistu were freed, with the latter being an Ethiopian-Israeli who entered Gaza on their own in 2014. Later, Hisham Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli, was also released after he entered Gaza in 2015.

Though the Israeli government anything about the delay prisoners, Hamas accused it of violating the ceasefire deal. The militant group's spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou accused the Israeli PM of "deliberately stalling".

Notably, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza paused one of the deadliest and destructive 16-month-long war. However, fears of the conflict resuming looms over the heads of the people.

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Hamas has said that to complete the truce deal's first phase, it will release the four bodies of the hostages next week. After this, the militant group will hold more than 60 hostages, over half of whom are believed to be alive.

Talks over the second phase of the ceasefire deal are yet to begin, with such ceremonies or other situations at hand posing more difficulty.

Hamas said that it will not release the remaining hostages until a lasting ceasefire is achieved and Israel fully withdraws from Gaza.

(with AP inputs)