Hamas spokesperson, Abdul Latif al-Qanou has accused Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately “stalling the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.”
The Palestinian group said in a statement that talks with Israel on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal have not yet started.
Al-Qanou stressed that the movement is still waiting for Israel to implement all provisions of the “humanitarian protocol” related to the ceasefire while repeating the group’s readiness to fully execute the agreement in all its phases.
Israel has been accused of stalling the entry of most of the temporary shelters – such as mobile homes and tents – as well as heavy machinery into Gaza, which forms part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal it agreed with Hamas.
Abdul Latif al-Qanou accused Israel of “using internationally banned weapons against Palestinian civilians.”
He also criticised the Israeli government for “demanding the disarmament of the legitimate Palestinian resistance.”
Al-Qanou called for the formation of “international committees to investigate war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s military has claimed that one of the four bodies of Israeli captives handed over in Gaza on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas.
Following a forensic examination, Israel accused Hamas of returning the body of an unidentified person on Thursday and falsely claiming it to be Israeli captive, Shiri Bibas.
The Israeli military said in a statement, “No match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body.”
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said in a statement that Hamas was guilty of treating the body “as if it were a worthless shipment” and demanded the UN Security Council condemn “this heinous crime.”
He stated that Hamas not only murdered Ariel and Kfir Bibas in “cold blood – a four-year-old boy and a 10-month-old baby – but continue to violate every basic moral value even after their death,” calling for the immediate return of their mother’s body.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, the community from which the Bibas family were taken by Palestinian fighters on October 7, 2023, also issued a statement commemorating Shiri’s late sons, Ariel and Kfir, and calling for their mother’s body to be returned.
Hamas is yet to comment on the allegations, which have thrown Saturday’s captive-for-prisoner exchange into doubt, as well as negotiations for the second round of the ceasefire.
The armed group has said that the captives were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Next Hours Critical For Ceasefire After Israeli Claims Over Captive’s Body
Mohamad Bazzi, an Associate Professor at New York University, opined that the next 24 hours will be critical for the fate of the Gaza ceasefire deal as Israel may use its claim that the wrong body was returned on Thursday as a pretext to renew fighting.
Bazzi said that there’s been “tremendous public anger whipped up inside Israel” over suggestions Hamas intentionally returned a body that Israel claims is not a captive, even if it may have been a mistake.
He said that the Israeli right-wing had seized on the moment to press for a return to war.
However, Bazzi noted that it would be “quite something” for Netanyahu to restart fighting and jeopardise further releases of captives by abandoning the ceasefire deal now.
“There is also the constituency that he cares about most, which is the right-wing extremists that keep him in power, and they want this total victory.
“They want Hamas to be erased from Gaza. They want an open-ended war that they’re going to try to pressure Netanyahu to get to that point again.”
Mohamad Bazzi
The question, Bazzi said, is whether Netanyahu will be “able to withstand that pressure, and to put some of his own personal interests aside.”
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