After the Palestinian organization accused Israel of jeopardizing a five-week-old truce in Gaza by halting the release of prisoners, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday that Israel was ready to resume its war against Hamas.
Details of a planned second phase of the truce, which has essentially stopped more than 15 months of deadly war in the Gaza Strip, have not yet been agreed upon. The first part of the truce is scheduled to end in early March.
Israel said Sunday it would increase military operations against Palestinian terrorists in the occupied West Bank, where violence has escalated during the Gaza war, as tensions over the agreement have once again risen.
Netanyahu, speaking at a military ceremony a day after Israel halted the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for six hostages freed from Gaza, vowed to achieve the war’s objectives in negotiations “or by other means”.
“We are prepared to resume intense fighting at any moment,” he said.
Since the ceasefire began on January 19, Gaza militants have released 25 living Israeli hostages in staged ceremonies, often flanked by masked gunmen and forced to speak.
Israel postponed the scheduled release of over 600 Palestinians after six were released on Saturday, blaming what Netanyahu referred to be “humiliating ceremonies” in Gaza.
The transfers between hostages and prisoners have been handled by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has previously urged “all parties” to conduct the swaps in a “dignified and private” way.
Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, stated that delaying the release puts “the entire agreement to grave danger”.
“Especially the Americans” should exert pressure on Israel “to implement the agreement as it is and immediately release our prisoners,” Naim urged the mediators of the peace.
Both sides have accused each other of violations during the ceasefire but it has so far held.
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