Israel delays release of Palestinians, claiming 'humiliating' handover of hostages by Hamas
620 imprisoned Palestinians were meant to be released hours after 6 Israelis freed
Israel says the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners is delayed "until the release of the next hostages is assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies" at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.
The statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office came early Sunday as vehicles apparently carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, only to turn around and go back in.
The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. It was to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire's first phase.
Israel's announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The Palestinian Authority's commission for prisoners' affairs confirmed the delay "until further notice." Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners' families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.
Five of the six hostages freed on Saturday were escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd — a display that the United Nations and others have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.
The Israeli statement cited "ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes." It was likely a reference to a Hamas video showing two hostages who have yet to be released watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday and speaking under duress.
Hamas had released the last six living hostages expected under the ceasefire's first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage.
Freed were three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies that the Red Cross and Israel have condemned as cruel and disrespectful.
Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were posed alongside Hamas fighters. A beaming Shem Tov, acting under duress, kissed two militants on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. They wore fake army uniforms, though they were not soldiers when abducted.
Cohen's family and friends in Israel chanted "Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!" and cheered.
"You're heroes," Shem Tov told his parents as they later embraced, laughing and crying. "You have no idea how much I dreamt of you." His father, Malki Shem Tov, told public broadcaster Kan that his son was held alone after the first 50 days and lost 17 kilograms (37 pounds).
Earlier Saturday, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, were freed. Mengistu, an Ethiopian Israeli, entered Gaza in 2014. His family told Israeli media he has struggled with mental health issues. The Israeli Austrian Shoham was taken from Kibbutz Be'eri. His wife and two children were freed in a 2023 exchange.
Later, Israel's military said Hisham al-Sayed, 36, was released. The Bedouin Israeli entered Gaza in 2015. His family has told Israeli media he was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Following the delay in releasing Palestinian prisoners, Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, with spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou accusing Netanyahu of "deliberately stalling."
Correct body returned
Saturday's hostage release followed a dispute when Hamas on Thursday handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother abducted with her two young boys. The remains were determined to be those of a Palestinian woman. Netanyahu vowed revenge for "a cruel and malicious violation." Hamas suggested it was a mistake.
Israeli forensic authorities confirmed a body handed over on Friday was Bibas. Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, said there was no evidence Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as Hamas has claimed. Kugel did not give a cause.
Hamas denied the Israeli military claim, based on forensic evidence and unspecified "intelligence," that its militants killed the children "with their bare hands," calling it a lie aimed at justifying Israeli military actions against civilians in Gaza.
The Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Israel has faced accusations of genocide in Gaza because of the scale of death and destruction, which it rejects by saying it abides by international law and has a right to defend itself after the attack.
Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defence minister, have been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. An arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas official Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, who is said by the Israeli military to have been killed last July.