Israel postpones release of 620 Palestinians even after Hamas frees 6 captives

Israel has delayed the release of Palestinian, with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stating that the swap will not proceed “until the release of the next hostages is guaranteed.”

In an official statement, Israeli authorities said, “It has been decided to delay the release of the terrorists planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the degrading ceremonies.”

Hamas, however, criticised the delay. The group said that Israel’s postponement of the release of the seventh batch of Palestinians “at the agreed-upon time constitutes a blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

The release of the Palestinians is expected to resume when Hamas frees the next group of hostages. Further details of the negotiations remain unclear as both sides continue to exchange sharp rhetoric over the issue.

Previously, Palestinian fighters freed six Israeli hostages on Saturday, with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released in exchange under a fragile Gaza truce that is nearing the end of its first phase.

The release of the last group of living hostages under the truce’s first phase caps an emotional two days in Israel, where the remains of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, have been identified after the initial handover of a different body.

Bibas and her two young sons, among dozens taken captive during Hamas attack on Israel that triggered more than 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip, had become symbols of the ordeal suffered by the Israeli hostages.

At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, masked Hamas brought onto a stage Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23.

An AFP correspondent said they waved while holding release certificates before their handover to the Red Cross and return to Israeli soil.

At a similar ceremony in Rafah, southern Gaza, fighters handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, who both appeared dazed.

Shoham was made to address the gathering, flanked by masked gunmen dressed all in black.

In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, hundreds who gathered at a site known as “Hostages Square” applauded and weeped as they watched a live broadcast of the releases.

A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was later released and taken back to Israeli territory, the military said.

Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, had been held in Gaza for about a decade after they entered the territory individually.

“Our family has endured 10 years and five months of unimaginable suffering”, Mengistu’s family said in a statement.

Sayed’s family called it “a long-awaited moment” and said they were “moved”.

Relatives of Shoham wept and embraced as they watched his handover, video released by Israel’s government showed.

“We saw that Tal seems well considering the circumstances. An enormous weight is lifted from us,” the family of the Austrian-Israeli dual national said in a statement.

The releases came under the first phase of a ceasefire deal which began on January 19 and is due to expire in early March.