Above photo: Reuters/Shir Torem.
Hamas announced that the release of additional captives has been suspended.
Due to continuous Israeli violations of the ceasefire terms.
NOTE: The Cradle also reports: The leader of Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said in a speech on 11 February that the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) – with which the group is merged – will resume its pro-Palestine operations in the event that the Gaza ceasefire collapses. “We are ready for military intervention in the event of any Israeli escalation against Gaza,” Houthi said, adding, “We will stand by the Lebanese people if the occupation decides to escalate [against Lebanon].” He stressed that “the Arab position on the displacement of Palestinians must be firm, serious and strong.”
“The current stage must be a stage of Arab and Islamic unity in the face of US arrogance. Arab unity will thwart the US approach towards Gaza … We affirm the principle of supporting the Palestinian people militarily, politically, and in the media,” he went on to say.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to return to “intensive fighting” in Gaza if Hamas does not reverse its decision to suspend the next round of captive releases as part of the ceasefire deal.
“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday at noon, the ceasefire will end, and the Israeli army will return to intensive fighting until Hamas is completely defeated.” He also instructed the Israeli army to gather in and around the Gaza Strip, adding that “this action is taking place at this hour. It will be completed soon.”
Three Israeli captives were scheduled to be freed on Saturday before Hamas decided to suspend further releases due to Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
Israeli forces have killed over 100 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire was reached last month, a human rights monitor revealed on Tuesday.
Additionally, 901 Palestinians have been injured since the ceasefire, averaging 47 injuries per day. Israel has also been blocking the entry of aid into the strip.
Israel’s security cabinet held a four-hour emergency meeting to discuss a response to the Hamas announcement. An Israeli official described the Hamas announcement as “the decision by the Hamas terror group to breach the deal.”
There are currently 17 additional Israeli captives set to return as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Nine are believed to be alive. Many Israelis taken captive by Hamas on 7 October 2023 during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood have since been killed by the same Israeli bombing of Gaza that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.
The next round of prisoner exchanges between the two sides has been complicated by US President Donald Trump, who warned late on Tuesday that “all bets are off” if all of the Israeli captives being held in Gaza are not released by the coming weekend.
Israeli sources have also stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu is seeking to sabotage the next phase of the ceasefire deal, preferring to resume the war on Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza rather than bring the remaining captives home.