Released hostage Ohad Ben Ami draped in an Israeli flag arrives at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center – Ichilov Hospital by helicopter, on Feb. 8, in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
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Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
TEL AVIV, Israel — A spokesperson for the militant group Hamas said Monday that it would delay the release of the next group of Israeli hostages scheduled for this Saturday, imperiling a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The hostage-for-prisoner exchanges are part of a six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas now in its fourth week.
Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of violating the terms of the deal. He said Israel is “delaying the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Strip, and not allowing relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed upon.”
In a statement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Hamas announcement “is a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the hostage release deal.”
He added that he had asked the country’s military “to prepare at the highest level of readiness for any possible scenario in Gaza and to ensure the protection of Israeli communities.”
At the end of the first phase of the deal, 33 Israeli hostages would’ve been freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The next stage of the deal…