Above photo: Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami, Israeli captives held in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are released by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal, February 8, 2025. Ali Hamad/APA Images.
Hamas says Israel’s delay in allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza is a breach of the ceasefire deal.
And is “a new war on the Palestinian people.” The group has delayed the release of more Israeli captives “until further notice.”
Hamas said in a statement on Monday that it will suspend the release of Israeli captives in Gaza in response to what it called Israel’s “obstruction of the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire deal.” The release of the next batch of Israeli captives would be delayed “until further notice,” the Palestinian movement said.
Hamas stated that Israel had been delaying the entry of important reconstruction material to the Gaza Strip, which it said was a breach of the ceasefire deal and constituted “a new war on the Palestinian people.” The Gaza Government Media Office and the municipalities of Rafah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City repeatedly reported last week that reconstruction material and heavy machinery to remove rubble had not entered the Gaza Strip.
1/ Hamas just announced a delay in releasing captives scheduled for next weekend, citing Israel’s obstruction of aid—blocking the entry of tents and rebuilding material into Gaza.
— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) February 10, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an urgent meeting of his war cabinet following the Hamas statement. For his part, Israel’s war minister, Israel Katz, called Hamas’s statement a “breach of the deal,” giving the Israeli army instructions to prepare “for all scenarios.” In Gaza, Israeli drones resumed low-altitude flying over the strip for the first time in weeks.
Hamas was set to release three more Israeli captives on Saturday, in accordance with the ceasefire deal’s weekly release schedule. Hamas has until Friday to release the names of the three intended captives to be released. If Hamas fails to announce the names on Friday, it will technically be in breach of the deal.
Last week, Qatar told Israel that breaching the humanitarian protocol of the deal could jeopardize not only the second phase of the deal but the current first phase as well. The humanitarian protocol stipulates the entry of 600 aid trucks to Gaza daily, including 50 trucks of fuel, in addition to heavy public works machinery and reconstruction material. The humanitarian protocol also states the entry of pre-made housing units and tents. Israel has been allowing only 15 trucks of fuel and very few bulldozers and tents. According to local reports, no housing units or reconstruction material has been let in.
Hamas’s statement arrived a day after Israel completed its withdrawal from the Netzarim corridor in Gaza and after the Israeli negotiating team left for Doha, Qatar, to resume talks over the second phase of the deal. The timing of the Hamas announcement gives mediators five days to resolve the issue before Hamas has to announce the names of the next batch of captives to be released.
The announcement also comes amid controversy raised by U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that the U.S. will “own” Gaza and forcibly displace its population to build a “Riviera of the Middle East” in their place. Palestinians fear that the humanitarian aid and reconstruction material would be used to press them to leave Gaza.
In a statement on Monday, families of Israeli captives called upon the government “not to take any measure that would jeopardize the ceasefire and hostage release deal.”
Some 1.8 million Palestinians, 98% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced by Israel throughout the course of 15 months of genocidal war. The Israeli army has destroyed 80% of housing units in Gaza since October 2023, with around 10,000 Palestinians reported missing under over 40 million tons of rubble.