GAZA CITY: Pales­tinian group Hamas anno­unced on Monday it would indefinitely postpone the next prisoner exchange under a fragile truce agreement with Israel, accusing it of failing to comply with its terms.

“The release of the prisoners (Israelis), which was scheduled for next Satu­rday, February 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice, pending the occupation’s compliance and retroactive fulfilment of the past weeks’ obligations,” Abu Ubaida, spoke­sman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation adheres to them,” he added.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called the Hamas announcement a “complete violation” of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

“Hamas’ announcement to stop releasing Israelis is a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the prisoners. I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.

The office of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that all the families of the prisoners were infor­med of Hamas’ announcement. “The families were made aware that the State of Israel is committed to respecting the agreement and considers any violation of it with the utmost seriousness.”

Under the terms of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, the first phase of which came into effect on January 19, 33 Israelis were to be released in exchange for around 1,900 prisoners.

On Saturday, they completed their fifth prisoner exchange, with three Israelis and 183 Palestinian prisoners released.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2025