Hamas announced on Thursday that it would release three Israeli captives as originally scheduled for Shabbos, reversing its earlier threat to postpone the release. This decision came after Hamas accused Israel of not fulfilling its responsibilities, including failing to provide tents and shelters, as well as other alleged breaches of the ceasefire agreement.
Reports suggested that Israel was pressing for the release of additional hostages in the coming days, but a senior Arab official told The Times of Israel that it was unlikely that Hamas would alter the original release schedule.
The ceasefire’s delicate nature was highlighted when, for the first time since the cessation of hostilities last month, a rocket was fired from Gaza. The rocket reportedly killed a Palestinian teenager within the Strip and prompted an Israeli military response, marking the second consecutive day of strikes.
In southern Israel, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisroel Katz held a lengthy meeting with top security and military officials on Thursday evening. Israel was reportedly intensifying its efforts to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages sooner than planned.
Israel has warned that it will resume hostilities if the captives are not released, and appeared to align with U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for the immediate release of all hostages, not just the three set for release on Shabbos, amid rising concerns about the conditions of the hostages held in Gaza for nearly 500 days.
Hamas revealed that it had held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and had been in contact with Qatar’s prime minister about bringing additional supplies into Gaza, including medical supplies, fuel, and heavy equipment for clearing rubble — some of the key demands Hamas has been vocal about in recent days. The group issued a statement claiming that mediators had committed to “remove all hurdles.”
Netanyahu’s office denied reports earlier suggesting that mobile homes and earth-moving equipment would be allowed into Gaza, calling them “fake news.”
“There is no entry of mobile homes or heavy equipment into Gaza, and there is no coordination for it,” said Netanyahu’s spokesman, Omer Dostri.
However, Egyptian media aired footage of trucks carrying temporary housing and bulldozers at the Rafah crossing near Gaza. These trucks were reportedly headed for Israeli inspection before continuing into Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou later confirmed in a phone interview with The Associated Press that three hostages would indeed be released on Shabbos.
As part of the ceasefire agreement that took effect last month, 17 hostages are still scheduled for release in the first stage, with nine believed to be alive. In recent weeks, 16 Israelis and five Thai hostages have been freed under the terms of the deal, which also requires Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
While the release of hostages seemed to be on track, a rare rocket launch on Thursday afternoon briefly raised concerns about the potential resumption of hostilities.
Footage from the scene showed the rocket landing inside Gaza, with Palestinian media reporting that it struck the Nuseirat area in the central Strip, killing a 14-year-old boy.
A Hamas-run police source claimed that the rocket was an unexploded Israeli ordinance that had ignited and fired into the air while being moved away from a residential area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that it had struck the source of the launch in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. On Wednesday, the IDF reported carrying out a drone strike against Gazans attempting to recover a smuggled UAV in Rafah, killing one person.
At the IDF’s Southern Command headquarters in Beersheba, Netanyahu met with defense leaders for over four hours to review operational plans “for various scenarios,” according to an Israeli official. Among those attending were Defense Minister Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and incoming chief of staff Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, and head of the IDF Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman.
Israeli officials were expecting Hamas to announce the names of the three hostages it intends to release on Friday, according to Channel 12 news.
The station, without citing a source, also reported that Israel was urging mediators, including Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S., to press Hamas to accelerate the release of the remaining six living hostages ahead of their scheduled release on February 22 and March 1.
Since Shabbos, Israel has been pushing to hasten the releases, particularly after three hostages — Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami — were freed looking emaciated. Freed hostages have recounted being subjected to abuse, starvation, and inhumane conditions.
A senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that Hamas was unlikely to release additional hostages, either on Shabbos or in the days immediately following, as this was not part of the agreement.
“We got Hamas to agree to release the hostages on Saturday, after it was threatening not to release any of them. To assume that they will go beyond that would be a stretch,” the diplomat said.
The ceasefire was thrown into uncertainty on Monday when Hamas declared it would not release any hostages on Saturday as planned, accusing Israel of blocking aid to Gaza, a claim Israel denied.
Trump later warned that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release all hostages by Shabbos. The group is holding 73 people captured during the October 7, 2023, attacks, including at least 35 bodies. It is also holding two civilians who entered Gaza nearly a decade ago, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014.
Following Trump’s statement, Netanyahu warned that Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas did not return the hostages by Shabbos at noon. In the days following, Israel issued a series of conflicting statements demanding that Hamas release “our hostages,” “nine hostages,” or “all of them” to maintain the ceasefire.
Despite this tough rhetoric, Israel reportedly conveyed to Hamas through Egyptian and Qatari mediators that the ceasefire would continue if the terror group released the three hostages as scheduled on Shabbos.
A government spokesperson, David Mencer, confirmed this shift in position, telling reporters Thursday that Hamas must release three live hostages by Saturday.
“If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages, by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end,” Mencer said.
The threat to the ceasefire prompted thousands of Israeli protesters to take to the streets this week, urging the government to uphold the agreement and secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Serious doubts linger regarding the subsequent stages of the deal, which have yet to be negotiated. Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Thursday that it was not involved in discussions about future phases for releasing the remaining hostages and achieving a lasting end to the conflict.
“Israel is not negotiating right now on the second stage in the deal,” Netanyahu’s spokesman, Omer Dostri, said, countering claims from Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein, a Likud MK, that Israel was “unequivocally dealing with the second stage of a hostage release deal.”
Negotiations for the second phase, which mediators had hoped would lead to the release of all remaining hostages and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, were supposed to start last week in Doha. However, the Israeli delegation returned home on Monday, two days after arriving.
Mediators have warned that the rest of the first stage of the agreement could be at risk unless Israel begins serious negotiations for phase two. Channel 12 news reported that Israel could send a delegation next week.
{Matzav.com}