Hamas says it is postponing next hostage release, claims Israel broke cease-fire deal

( NYPost )

Hamas said it will postpone the next hostage release scheduled for the weekend after accusing Israel of breaking the cease-fire deal on Monday.

Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, said the exchanges would remain on pause until Israel offers proper compensation for allegedly breaking the terms of the breakthrough truce deal that was meant to free 33 hostages in its first phase.

“Hostages 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,” Obeida wrote on X.

Hamas’ state Media Office accused Israel on Monday of refusing to allow shelter supplies into the Gaza Strip, as outlined in the cease-fire agreement to help combat the humanitarian crisis in the enclave. 

Aid has been flooding into Gaza since the cease-fire began last month, but Hamas officials and humanitarian groups say not enough has arrived to northern Gaza, where the most destruction lies and where the terror group remains most active. 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz slammed Hamas’ notice as an “outright violation of the cease-fire,” the Times of Israel reports.  

“I instructed the IDF to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza and to protect the [border] communities,” Katz said in preparation for a return to war. 

The development threatens the future of the cease-fire deal, which seeks to free the remaining hostages in Gaza and create the framework for lasting peace in the region. 

So far, Hamas has freed 21 hostages, including American-Israeli Keith Siegel, who was kidnapped along with his wife, Aviva, when Hamas raided their home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023. Aviva was released in November 2023.

The first phase of the cease-fire deal calls for 12 more hostages to be released in the next three weeks.

There are 76 hostages remaining in Gaza — around 30 of whom are presumed dead, according to Israeli officials.

Tensions over the fragile cease-fire erupted on Saturday when three Israeli hostages freed by Hamas appeared to be in emaciated and in worse condition than the previous captives freed.

Their condition garnered condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, who said the US was “losing our patience” with Hamas.

Following the news from Hamas, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum group said they were reaching out to mediators to try and salvage the cease-fire deal.

“We stand with the Israeli government and encourage maintaining the conditions that will ensure the successful continuation of the agreement, leading to the safe return of our 76 brothers and sisters,” the forum says in a statement.

“Time is of the essence, and all hostages must be urgently rescued from this horrific situation.”