Hamas has said that it will release Israeli hostages as initially planned after holding “positive” talks with mediators, following a dispute with Israel over the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The militant group had postponed the release of more hostages this weekend, accusing Israel of violating the fragile ceasefire. In response, Israel warned it would return to fighting.
The militant group disclosed that its delegation has held talks with the Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo, focusing on the terms of the ceasefire deal “especially with regard to securing housing for our people and urgently bringing in prefabricated houses (‘caravans’), tents, heavy equipment, medical supplies, fuel, and the continued flow of relief and everything stipulated in the agreement.”
It added that the discussions were characterised by a positive spirit, and the “mediating brothers in Egypt and Qatar” confirmed that they would follow up on all of this to remove obstacles and close gaps.
“Accordingly, Hamas confirms its continued position to implement the agreement in accordance with what was signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timetable.”
Hamas
It is unclear yet whether Hamas’ announcement will be enough to resolve the dispute with Israel, which brought the fate of remaining hostages and the pause in fighting into question.
So far, 16 out of 33 Israeli hostages scheduled for release in the current phase of the agreement have been freed by Hamas, and 656 Palestinian prisoners from a list of nearly 2,000 have been released by Israel.
In its statement, Hamas said that mediators pledged to follow up on its demands for Israel to allow the entry of housing supplies, medical equipment, fuel, and relief aid.
The group also said that mediators confirmed they would “remove obstacles” to resuming the ceasefire agreement.
An Israeli government spokesman said that Hamas must release three living captives on Saturday, February 15, 2025, under the terms of the ongoing Gaza truce or Israel will return to war in the Palestinian territory.
Spokesman David Mencer told reporters that the ceasefire “framework makes clear that three live hostages must be released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday.”
He added, “If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end.”
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis will immediately take military action if the US and Israel attack Gaza, according to the group’s leader, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi.
He said in a televised speech that the Houthis would monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza and “immediately move militarily if the Americans and Israelis move, based on the tyrant Trump’s threat, to attack the Gaza Strip on Saturday or before or after it.”
He called on the [Houthi] armed forces to be ready for military intervention if “the criminal Trump carries out his threat [to displace Palestinians from Gaza].”
Mediators Seem To Have Succeeded In Pushing Gaza Warring Sides To Commit To Ceasefire Deal
Muhanad Seloom, Assistant Professor of critical security studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar, opined that “it seems that the mediators have succeeded in averting a crisis between the Israeli government and Palestinians.”
He also said that it seemed like Israel would accept the release of just three captives in Gaza on Saturday.
Seloom was also cautiously optimistic about the ceasefire agreement holding.
“It is obviously a very fragile agreement, the situation is developing on the ground and Israel might flip at some point and they might change their mind but so far it looks like the mediators have succeeded in pushing both sides to commit to the deal.
“There are no details on what is coming next, but according to the initial agreement the phase two will witness the exchange of more hostages and an agreement to a permanent ceasefire.”
Muhanad Seloom
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