Hamas denounced Sunday Israel’s decision to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners, rejecting claims that hostage handover ceremonies were “humiliating" and accusing it of endangering the Gaza cease-fire deal.
"What the enemy government is doing by postponing the release of our prisoners according to the agreement is behaving like thugs and exposes the entire agreement to grave danger," senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu's decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation's lack of reliability in implementing its obligations," Ezzat el Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.
Israel said earlier it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it had planned to free the day before until Hamas met its conditions, underscoring the fragility of the Gaza cease-fire accord.
Netanyahu's office released a statement in the early hours of Sunday saying that Israel was waiting to deliver the 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees "until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies."
Hamas' el Rashq said the ceremonies do not include any insult to the hostages, "but rather reflect the humane and dignified treatment of them," adding that the "real insult" is what the Palestinian prisoners are subjected to during the release process.
The Palestinian resistance group official cited the hands' tying of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees and their blindfolding and threatening them not to hold any celebrations for their release as examples of their humiliation at the hands of Israeli authorities.
Hamas has made hostages appear on stage in front of crowds and sometimes speak before they were handed over. Coffins with hostage remains have also been carried through crowds.
Israel's announcement, which also accused Hamas of repeatedly violating the month-old cease-fire, came after the Palestinian resistance group on Saturday handed over six hostages from Gaza as part of an exchange arranged under the truce.
The hostages freed Saturday were the last living Israeli captives due to be handed over during the first phase of the cease-fire. The bodies of four dead Israeli hostages were to be released next week.
Since the cease-fire's first phase began on Jan. 19, Hamas has released 25 living Israeli hostages in ceremonies before crowds at various locations in Gaza.
Armed masked members escort the captives onto stages adorned with slogans. The hostages have spoken and waved.
The Red Cross has previously appealed to "all parties" for the swaps to be carried out in a "dignified and private" manner.
In the seventh such transfer, Hamas released Israeli captives Saturday but Israel put off releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
Families of Palestinian prisoners had waited with uncertainty into the night Saturday, hoping for their release.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, Umm Diya al-Agha, 80, said she had received word her son was among those scheduled to be freed, after 33 years in prison.
"If my heart were made of iron, it would have melted and shattered. Every day, I have been waiting for this moment," she said.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group had said Israel would free 620 inmates Saturday, most of them Gazans taken into custody during the war.
Before Netanyahu's announcement, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said Israel's "failure to comply with the release ... at the agreed-upon time constitutes a blatant violation of the agreement."
Qanou called on the truce mediators to pressure Israel to "implement its provisions without delay or obstruction."
