Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida said that the terrorist organization will not be moving forward with the scheduled next round of hostage releases. In a statement released Monday night, he claimed that this is because of what Hamas said were Israel’s “violations” and “non-compliance” with the terms of the ceasefire agreement since it was first implemented three weeks ago.
He did not provide any specifics as to what exactly were the supposed violations.
“Accordingly, the handover of the abductees who were supposed to be released this coming Saturday, corresponding to 02-15-2025, will be postponed until further notice, and until Israel makes a commitment and compensates for the last few weeks retroactively,” Obaida said in a Twitter post.
We Will Not Allow Return to Reality of October 7
After the Hamas terror organization announced Monday evening it will renege on the agreement for further hostage releases over unspecified alleged ceasefire violations by Israel, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he has ordered the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to “prepare at the highest level of alertness for any possible scenario in Gaza and to protect the settlements.”
“Hamas’ announcement of the cessation of the release of the Israeli hostages is a complete violation of the cease-fire agreement and the deal for the release of the hostages,’ said Katz.
“We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7.”
Since the ceasefire began, Israel pulled out of nearly all the positions in Gaza that it captured, and control was retaken by Hamas.
JewishPress.com News Desk contributed to this report.
