Israel PM's office indefinitely suspends release of Palestinian prisoners

Israel is supposed to release more than 600 prisoners.

However, the delay is likely to hit the ongoing ceasefire deal which began on January 19.

In an X post, Netanyahu said: "In light of Hamas's repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes."

The PM said: "It has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured and without the humiliating ceremonies."

Six Hostages

Hamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the truce.

Four of the released hostages were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Only one more handover of hostages in the first phase of the deal is left now.

No arrangements for the release of the other remaining living hostages in the potential second phase of the ceasefire deal has been reached so far.

Mediators will be working overtime to try to get the deal back on track and avert a possible collapse of the ceasefire, reported BBC.

During Saturday's exchange, four hostages, who were abducted during the Nova music festival, were released by Hamas.

They were identified as Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert .

According to reports, the other two released hostages Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed were held in Gaza as captives for years.

More than 60 hostages, half of whom are believed to be alive, still remains in Hamas captivity.

Facilitated by Red Cross, Hamas began releasing hostages for Palestinian prisoners after the ceasefire deal was reached between the two sides on January 19.

Gaza Strip

Meanwhile, aid operations in the Gaza Strip continue to reach people from north to south with critical assistance, including cash, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Friday.

Since the ceasefire on 19 January, some 138,000 Palestinians have benefited from cash assistance, including people with disabilities and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that market conditions across Gaza have improved since the ceasefire took effect. Goods are reportedly less expensive, and more commodities are available.