Surprise! Hamas Refuses to Release Third Group of Hostages, Violating Ceasefire Deal

What a surprise.

Hamas has said the next hostage release scheduled to take place in Gaza on Saturday will be postponed "until further notice," accusing Israel of breaking the ceasefire deal.

Israel described the postponement as a "complete violation of the ceasefire" and called on the Israeli military to prepare for "any possible scenario" in Gaza.

In a post on X, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, said that the handover of the prisoners "who were scheduled to be released next Saturday ... will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits to and compensates for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively."

He added: "We affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them."

Abu Obeida detailed various alleged violations of the agreement by Israel over the past three weeks, including "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 the entry of relief supplies in all their forms according to what was agreed upon."

In response to Hamas' announcement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the country's military to "prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza."

The defense minister described Hamas' postponement as a "complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages."

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently holding consultations with his security leadership team, an Israeli official told CNN. A political-security cabinet meeting initially scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday local time is also being moved up to the morning hours due to Hamas' announcement, the official said.

Why refuse to release them? Well, they want to start negotiations again to make more demands for their release, beyond what they've already agreed to.

And one suspects that they don't want to release the hostages they've raped and tortured. Might not be so great for Palestinians' claims to be the "oppressed."

The hostages Hamas released are all "haggard" and thin from stress and starvation.

posted by Ace at 03:47 PM

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