Where does Gaza’s beleaguered ceasefire stand?
- So far, 16 of the 33 captives to be released in the first 42-day phase of the deal have come home as well as five Thais who were returned in an unscheduled release. In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
- Hamas has accused Israel of dragging its feet on allowing aid into Gaza, one of the conditions of the first phase of the agreement, a charge Israel has rejected as untrue.
- Israel has accused Hamas of not respecting the order in which captives are to be released and of orchestrating public displays before large crowds when they have been handed over to the Red Cross.
- Talks on a second phase were meant to begin on the truce’s 16th day, but Israel refused to send its negotiators to Qatar.
- Later, Netanyahu’s office said an Israeli delegation had returned from ceasefire talks in Doha amid already growing doubts over the Egyptian- and Qatari-brokered process to end the war.
- There were no immediate details on the reason for the return from the talks.
Israel president calls for truce to continue to bring all captives home
Israeli President Isaac Herzog pressed for the Gaza ceasefire deal to be completed to bring captives home.
“We are in a particularly turbulent period. I repeat and call again and again to complete all stages of the deal, to quickly return all of our kidnapped sisters and brothers, down to the last one,” Herzog was quoted as saying by Israeli news outlet Ynet.
He also denied Hamas’s accusation that Israel violated the ceasefire, saying, “Hamas took a vile and evil step tonight whose sole purpose is to strain our nerves, to create internal tension within us. Its words are empty and false, its reasons are empty and false. We must not fall into its trap of nerves.”
Full Hamas statement on move to halt Gaza captive releases
“Hamas confirms its commitment to the terms of the agreement, which the Zionist occupation committed to. Hamas has implemented all its commitments strictly and on time. The occupation did not comply with the terms of the agreement, and recorded many violations, which included:
- Delaying the return of displaced people to the northern Gaza Strip
- Targeting our people by bombing and shooting them, and killing many in various areas of the Strip
- Obstructing the entry of shelter requirements from tents and ready houses, fuel, and rubble-lifting machinery to recover bodies
- Delaying the entry of the medicines and requirements to restore hospitals and the health sector
“Hamas counted the abuses of the occupation, and provided them with the mediators first by one, but the occupation continued its excesses. Hamas calls for strict adherence to the agreement, and not subject it to selectivity, by providing the least important, delaying, and obstructing the most urgent and important.
“The postponement of the release of prisoners is a warning message to the occupation, and to pressure towards strict adherence to the terms of the agreement.
“Hamas deliberately made this announcement five full days before the date of extradition of the prisoners to give the mediators enough opportunity to put pressure on the occupation to implement its obligations, and to keep the door open to implement the exchange on time if the occupation adheres to what it agreed to.”
