Hamas says it will adhere to Gaza ceasefire after threat to delay next release of Israeli hostages
Hamas said Thursday that it would continue releasing hostages according to the terms of the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel, several days after it accused Israel of violating the agreement and said it would delay the next scheduled exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Under the terms of the deal between Israel and Hamas, which is a U.S. and Israeli-designated terrorist group, that exchange is set to take place on Saturday, with the release of three more Israeli hostages and dozens more Palestinian prisoners.
"Hamas confirms continuation in implementing the agreement in accordance with what was signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timetable," Hamas said in a statement.
Hamas said it had spoken to negotiators in Egypt and Qatar about, "the necessity of adhering to implementing all terms" of the the agreement with Israel, particularly relating to "securing housing for our people and urgently bringing in caravans, tents, heavy equipment, medical supplies, fuel, and continuing the flow of humanitarian aid, as stipulated in the agreement."
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching the agreement multiple times, but it has remained in effect, halting the 15-month war in Gaza sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack.
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that it had detected a rocket launch within Gaza, but that the weapon fell inside the Palestinian territory, and that the IDF remained "committed to fully implementing the conditions of the agreement for the return of the hostages."
The IDF said it had "struck the launcher from which the rocket launch in the Gaza Strip was identified," but provided no further information. There was no immediate comment from Gaza's Hamas rulers about the rocket launch.
On Monday, Hamas accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement by not allowing the full amount of aid that had been agreed upon to enter Gaza and by firing on Palestinians trying to return to their homes in the decimated Palestinian territory. It said at the time that it would not free the next three hostages on Saturday as called for in the deal.
Israel replied quickly, saying that if Hamas failed to release those hostages, it would resume its military operations in Gaza.
President Trump went further, saying Hamas should free all of the remaining Israeli hostages — almost 80 people, though some are known to have been killed — on Saturday, or "all hell is going to break loose." Israel never explicitly backed that suggested change in the ceasefire terms.
Mr. Trump has also drawn a fierce backlash from regional partners and allies around the world for suggesting a plan to relocate Gaza's roughly 2.3 million Palestinian inhabitants to other countries, and for the U.S. to "take over" the territory and turn it into a real estate development.
CBS News' team in Gaza said the Israeli military allowed 150 aid trucks loaded with tents to enter the enclave overnight Wednesday, and that it had promised to allow in mobile caravans for housing, too.
Negotiations have begun for the second phase of the deal, which, if agreed, would see even more hostages released by Hamas and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Under the terms of the agreement, the current six-week first phase is to see 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. So far, 21 hostages have been freed, including American-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was among those to condemn Mr. Trump's plan for Gaza, urged Hamas to resume hostage releases and "avoid at all costs" any resumption of fighting in the territory.
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that if fighting did resume in Gaza, it would "not end without Hamas' defeat and the release of all the hostages," adding that it would "also enable the realization of US President Trump's vision for Gaza."
In Hamas' terrorist attack on southern Israel in October 2023 some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage. Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas has killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to the enclave's Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Independent analyses from outside organizations have estimated the death toll at closer to 64,000.
