Hamas said on Thursday that it would launch three Israeli hostages as planned, which paves the way for a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas threatened to delay the next release of the prisoners, accusing Israel of its failure to fulfill its obligations of allowing tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of calm. Israel, with the support of US President Donald Trump, threatened to renew its attack if the hostages were not released.
There was no immediate comment from Israel about the Hamas Declaration, but the ceasefire should be allowed to continue at the present time, although the future of the armistice is still in doubt.
Hamas said that its delegation had had talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with the Prime Minister in Qatar on bringing more shelters in Gaza, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment to purify the rubble – its main request in recent days. He said in a statement that the mediators pledged to “remove all obstacles.”
Shortly after the announcement, Hamas spokesman Abdel -Latif Al -Qano told Associated Press on the phone that three hostages will be released on Saturday.
The state, which is run by the state in Egypt, which is close to security services in the country, reported that Egypt and Qatar have succeeded in resolving the conflict. The two Arab countries served as a major brokers in Hamas and helped to mediate the ceasefire, which entered into January, after more than 15 months of war.
The Egyptian media also broadcast footage showing trucks carrying temporary housing and bulldozers on the Egyptian side from the Rafah crossing with Gaza. They stated that the trucks were heading to the Israeli inspection area before crossing it to Gaza.
Trump provided more uncertainty
The truce faces a much greater challenge in the coming weeks. The first stage is scheduled to end at the beginning of March, and there were no fundamental negotiations during the second stage, as Hamas will launch dozens of the remaining hostages in exchange for ending the war.
Trump’s proposal to remove about two million Palestinians from Gaza and its settlement in other countries has threw the future of the armistice in further doubt. Israel welcomed its plan, but it was strongly rejected by the Palestinians and the Arab countries, which refused to accept any influx of refugees. Human rights groups say they may rise to the extent of war crime under international law.
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The allies of the Israeli ministers, Benjamin Netanyahu, are already calling for the resumption of the war after the first phase with the aim of implementing the Trump plan and informing Hamas, who still controls the region after he survived one of the bloodiest and most destructive army army in modern history.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when the militants led by Hamas stormed Israel, killing about 1,200 people, especially civilians, and kidnapped about 250 people. More than half of them were issued in deals with Hamas or other agreements, and eight bodies were rescued.
The prisoners are among the only bargaining chips left by Hamas, and it may be difficult to make the group adhere to more versions if you believe that the war will appeal.
Trump gave mixed signals about what he wanted to see in Gaza.
He was credited with the mediation of the ceasefire, which was reached days before he took office more than a year after negotiations under the Biden Administration. But he also expressed his concerns about how the agreement was revealed and says that it is up to Israel whether it would resume the war, while the pledge continued with American military support.
Seventy -three hostages were released, and about half of them are believed to have died. Almost all the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.
The war killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which does not say the number of fighters. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The Israeli attack has blurred large parts of Gaza. At its peak, the fighting has displaced 90 % of the population of the region of 2.3 million people. Hundreds of thousands have returned to their homes since the ceasefire was stopped, although many of them have found only hills of rubble, buried human residues and uninterrupted ammunition.
It is likely that a “new war” is much worse
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that “all hell will collapse” if Hamas stops the hostage. He said that the “new Gaza war” will not end until Hamas was defeated, allowing Trump’s vision of collective displacement.
With a much fewer hostage in Gaza remaining, the Israeli army will have more freedom to act.
It will also face much lower restrictions than the United States, its main military sponsor. The Biden Administration, while providing decisive military and diplomatic support, had sometimes pressed Israel to allow more assistance and at one time some arms shipments were suspended. He also said that there should not be a permanent displacement for the population of the Palestinian Gaza.
Trump has raised restrictions on the transport of weapons, and his administration presses the sale of $ 7 billion in weapons accredited by President Joe Biden.
Trump said that Gaza residents should be resettled elsewhere in the region, where wealthy Arab countries are paying their price. He suggested that as soon as the fighting is over, Israel will transfer control of Gaza to the United States, which will then be re -developed as “the Rivieh for the Middle East.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezallil Smotrich, a major partner in the fragile Netanyahu governor’s coalition, called for the resumption of the war, “voluntary immigration” for large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza and the re -establishment of the Jewish settlements there.
Lidman mentioned from Jerusalem.
And copied 2025 Canadian press
