The Israeli military on Sunday claimed that Hamas is violating the terms of a ceasefire agreement that came into force a week ago, while Hamas accuses Israel of stalling the ceasefire and forces troops to return to Palestinian homes in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army was blocking their return.
Officials on both sides said they were in contact with a mediator to try to resolve the crisis. The crisis was one of the most significant between the parties since a ceasefire brought at least a temporary cessation of fighting after 15 months of devastating war.
Under the early terms of a deal reached this month, Israel will withdraw some of its troops to allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans to head north after Saturday's exchange of hostages and prisoners. It was expected.
However, the Israeli government claims that Hamas violated the agreement by not first returning the captured Israeli civilian woman and by failing to provide Israel with information about the situation of other hostages as stipulated in the agreement. did.
Israeli officials said that under the deal, Arbel Yehud, an Israeli civilian held hostage in the Gaza Strip, was to be one of four women released on Saturday.
The freed hostages were all soldiers guarding bases on the Gaza border from which they were abducted on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led Israeli offensive that sparked the outbreak of the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would not allow Gazans to head north “until the release of civilian Arbel Yehud is coordinated,” leaving the timing of the withdrawal of troops and the return of residents unclear. It remains as it is.
The Israeli government reiterated in a statement Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “resolutely defends” that decision. Yehud was scheduled to be released along with about 100 other hostages during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023.
Additionally, by late Saturday, Hamas was supposed to have provided Israel with a list detailing the status of the remaining 26 hostages scheduled to be released over the next five weeks. An Israeli official said Sunday afternoon, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, that Israel had not yet received the list.
Israeli officials have said they believe many or most of the hostages scheduled to be released in the first phase of the deal are alive, but the status of some is unclear.
Hamas on Sunday accused Israel of violating the agreement by stalling and preventing displaced Gazans from moving north.
Hamas said in a statement that it had informed the mediators that Yehud was alive and had given them “all the guarantees necessary for his release,” and that it was following up with the mediators to try to resolve the dispute. added.
The ceasefire agreement was brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt. Israeli officials said Sunday that Israel had not received any evidence from Hamas regarding Yehud's status.
However, it appears that Hamas may not be detaining Yehud. The al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, one of the small Hamas-backed armed groups in the Gaza Strip, said in a statement on Sunday that Ehud was a member of the Brigades' fighters and the People's Liberation Army during the 2023 fighting. He said he was captured during an attack by joint forces. Quds Brigade of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Another armed group that sometimes competes with Hamas. The statement added that Ehud's extradition will take place if an agreement is reached between Hamas negotiators and a mediator.
Images of large numbers of displaced Palestinians waiting to return north near the Netzarim Corridor, a strip created by the Israeli military that bisects the Gaza Strip, were circulated in Palestinian media on Sunday.
The Palestinian Authority's Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces opened fire on crowds waiting to return to the north west of Nuseirat in central Gaza, killing one person and injuring several others. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Ghada al-Kurd, 37, said on Sunday he had chosen to remain in central Gaza, despite his desire to return to his hometown in the north. “I'm not leaving until everything is clear,” she said. “I'm not going to risk my life. Those soldiers can't be trusted,” she added.
Al Kurd, who left his home and two daughters in Gaza City in the early weeks of the war, wondered again when he would be able to see them again. “We're all just waiting, feeling stressed and anxious,” she said. “They are toying with our destiny,” she added.
This is a developing story. Please check the latest information.
Iyad Abuheweira contributed reporting from Istanbul.
