A member of the International Red Cross signs documents with a Hamas fighter, on a stage at the site of the handing over of two Israelis in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
"Any new talks with Israel will be conditional on the release of the [seventh batch of] Palestinian prisoners whose release was postponed by Israel on Saturday," Hamas leader Basem Naim said in a press statement.
"This also includes the release of the bodies of the four Israelis who were supposed to be handed over on Thursday of this week," he added.
"The mediators must ensure that Israel abides by the terms of the agreement as stated in the agreed text of the ceasefire agreement that we reached on 15 January and which entered into force on 19 January," he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had decided to postpone the release of a new batch of Palestinian detainees from Israel jails, which was supposed to take place on Saturday.
Netanyahu claimed that "Hamas violated the privacy of the Israeli detainees" during their release and insisted on "provocative" displays.
His office said that the release of the Palestinian prisoners is contingent on obtaining guarantees from mediators "that Hamas will not carry out any provocative displays."
Hamas condemned the delay and accused Israel of putting the Gaza truce in grave danger.
It said that Israel aims to evade its obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Israel and the US are working on extending the ongoing first phase, which is now nearing the end of its first phase.
White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to the region this week to push for such an extension of the fragile ceasefire.
"We have to get an extension of phase one. I'll be going to the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that, and we are hopeful that we have the proper time to begin phase two and finish it off and get more hostages released," Witkoff told CNN's State of the Union.
Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanou said Monday that Israel's failure to implement all the provisions of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza "does not serve the process of moving forward towards completing the release of the remaining Israeli prisoners."
The Palestinian Information Centre quoted Al-Qanou in press statements today as saying, "The resistance will not engage in any new negotiations unless the occupation abides by the agreement and implements the requirements of the first phase."
He condemned Netanyahu for "obstructing the implementation of all the terms of the agreement," adding that "the failure to implement the humanitarian protocol and the postponement of the release of the seventh batch of prisoners is evidence of the occupation's intentions to disrupt the agreement and its lack of seriousness in continuing it."
He also pointed out that "contacts with mediators regarding the occupation's repeated violations and procrastination in implementation are ongoing, and we are awaiting their response."
"The agreement was concluded under international sponsorship, which requires the occupation to respect it and implement its stages without evasion, as the resistance has committed to."
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