A statement by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office early Sunday came as vehicles apparently carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in.
The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to occur just after six Israeli captives were released on Saturday. It was meant to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase.
Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay “until further notice.” Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners’ families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.
Bader Abu Alia, the family member of a Palestinian prisoner who was set to be released, said the relatives of the detainees came with young children to welcome their loved ones.
The families waited in the cold weather and rain all day, he said.
“We came with our wives and children, as you can see, all these are family members and we were surprised to see that there is a delay. This time that passes is burdening us, it’s heavy, every minute feels like an hour or day,” Abu Alia told Reuters.
“As you see, people are devastated. Hopefully God will help them and they will be released as soon as possible,” he added.
Five of the six Israeli captives released Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd.
The Israeli statement cited “ceremonies that demean the dignity" of the detainees and what it claimed was the use of the Israelis for "propaganda purposes.”
It was likely a reference to a Hamas video showing two Israelis who have yet to be released watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday.
Hamas condemned the delay and accused Israel of putting Gaza truce in grave danger.
"What the enemy government is doing by postponing the release of our prisoners according to the agreement is behaving like thugs and exposes the entire agreement to grave danger," senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told AFP.
In a statement, Hamas said that Israel aims to evade its obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
It rejected criticism of the handover events, saying “The prisoner handover ceremony does not include any insult to them, but rather reflects the noble humane treatment of them.”
Hamas called on mediators to intervene to hold Israel to the terms of the deal.
Since the ceasefire's first phase began on 19 January, the Palestinian resistance group has released 25 living Israeli detainees in ceremonies before crowds at various locations in Gaza.
It handed over a sixth captive, Hisham Al-Sayed, a 36-year-old Arab citizen of Israel, to the Red Cross in Gaza City without a public ceremony.
The six were the last living captives expected to be freed under the ceasefire 's first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage.
Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel on 7 October 2023. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies. In one, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were posed alongside Hamas fighters. A beaming Shem Tov kissed two militants on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. They wore fake army uniforms.
Earlier Saturday, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, were freed. Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli, entered Gaza in 2014. His family told Israeli media he has struggled with mental health issues. The Israeli-Austrian Shoham was taken from the settlement Be’eri. His wife and two children were freed in a 2023 exchange.
Later, Israel's occupation army said Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was released. The Bedouin Israeli entered Gaza in 2015. His family also told Israeli media he was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Israel’s government didn’t respond to questions about the delay in releasing prisoners, AP said.
Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, with spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou accusing Netanyahu of “deliberately stalling.”
The captives release followed a dispute when Hamas on Thursday handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother abducted with her two young boys. Hamas suggested it was a mistake.
Israeli forensic authorities confirmed a body handed over on Friday was Bibas. Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, said they found no evidence Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Hamas denied the Israeli army's claim that its militants killed the children “with their bare hands,” calling it a lie aimed at justifying Israeli military genocidal war against civilians in Gaza.
Difficult talks likely over the ceasefire’s next phase
The ceasefire deal has paused the deadliest and most devastating Israeli war on Gaza, but there are fears the war will resume. Negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase are likely to be more difficult.
Hamas had said it will release four bodies next week, completing the truce's first phase. After that, Hamas will hold 63 captives - about half believed to be alive.
Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu, with the backing of US President Donald Trump's administration, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all captives, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners
The 620 Palestinian prisoners meant to be freed include 445 men, 23 children aged 15 to 19, and a woman, all seized by Israeli occupation troops in Gaza without charge during the war.
Also meant to be released are 151 serving life or other sentences. Almost 100 would be deported out of the Palestinian territories, according to the Palestinian prisoners' media office.
A Palestinian prisoner rights association said they include Nael Barghouti, who spent over 45 years in prison.
Israel has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children in Gaza since October 2023.
The brutal war destroyed vast areas of Gaza, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza’s population.
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