Israel indefinitely delays Palestinian prisoner release as hostages freed

Israel says it is indefinitely delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, in another potentially major setback in the ceasefire process.

It came after six Israeli hostages, including four kidnapped during the 7 October 2023 deadly Hamas attack on Israel, were released on Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the release of the Palestinian prisoners was now going to be delayed until the next handover of hostages by Hamas was guaranteed – and without what he called the degrading ceremonies that Hamas has put on each week.

There’s only one more handover of hostages due in the first phase of the ceasefire, involving four of the hostages who’ve died in captivity.

No arrangements for the release of other living hostages, due to take place in phase two of the ceasefire, have yet been made.

Mediators will be working overtime to try to get the deal back on track and avert a possible collapse of the ceasefire.

Netanyahu accused Hamas of “repeated violations”, including the “cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes”.

His statement came after four hostages who were taken captive during the Nova music festival – Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert – were released on Saturday.

The two other released hostages, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, were held in Gaza for years – Mr Mengistu since 2014 and Mr al-Sayed since 2015.

The six Israeli hostages are the final living hostages to be returned as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal which is set to end next Saturday.

Meanwhile outside the Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, family and friends waited for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

An 80-year-old mother in Khan Younis, Gaza, told the AFP news agency that she “can’t believe” her son would be free after 33 years in prison.

By the evening, Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement by delaying the release.

There was no immediate response from Hamas to Netanyahu’s statement.

According to Palestinian authorities, 50 of the prisoners who were going to be released were serving life sentences, 60 had long sentences, and 445 were detained by Israel since 7 October.

There are 62 hostages taken on 7 October 2023 who are still being held by Hamas, around half of whom are believed to be alive. More are set to be freed in the next phase of the three-stage ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which is scheduled to start on 1 March.

Hamas began releasing hostages, facilitated by the Red Cross, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners after the ceasefire agreement took effect on 19 January.

Initial chaotic scenes have become more choreographed, with hostages flanked by fighters on stages before the handovers.

On Saturday, Mr Shoham, 40, and Mr Mengistu, 39, were passed to the Red Cross in Rafah, south Gaza before being transferred to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Mr Shoham was visiting family at Kibbutz Be’eri in October 2023 when he and others, including his wife and two children, were kidnapped by Hamas. His captured family members were released after 50 days.

In a statement, his family said: “This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together. Our Tal is with us.”

Mr Mengistu, who is Ethiopian-Israeli, had been held by Hamas since September 2014 when he crossed into northern Gaza.

He and Mr al-Sayed, a Bedouin Arab Israeli who entered Gaza in 2015, had both suffered with mental health problems in the past, according to their families.

Mr al-Sayed’s release was conducted privately in Gaza City on Saturday.

“After nearly a decade of fighting for Hisham’s return, the long-awaited moment has arrived,” his family said in a statement.

“During these days, we need privacy for Hisham and the entire family so we can begin to care for Hisham and ourselves.”

Separately, at Nuseirat in central Gaza, Mr Shem Tov, 22, Mr Cohen, 27, and Mr Wenkert, 23, were freed in another public show by Hamas.

All three were taken captive at the Nova music festival.

Mr Shem Tov had initially escaped by car when Hamas fighters descended on the festival, but was captured when he went back to rescue his friends.

Mr Cohen had hid with his girlfriend, Ziv Abud, in a shelter at the festival, but was discovered and driven away. The shelter was bombed, but Ms Abud survived and escaped.

Mr Wenkert managed to send text messages to his family when festival-goers were being attacked, to tell them he was going to a safe shelter, but they lost contact with him.

Crowds in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square greeted the public releases with cheers as they watched them unfold on a live feed.

Families celebrating the return of the six men called for all remaining hostages to be released.

“Our only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal that will… return all hostages home,” Mr Shoham’s family said.

Remaining hostages include Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier captured on 7 October.

His mother, Yael Alexander, who was watching Saturday’s hostage release, told the BBC it was “amazing” to see them freed, but for her family it is “very tough” waiting.

“There are more than dozens of young men alive, like my son, still waiting to be released,” she said. “This is the main goal, to release the live people now from Gaza.”

Saturday’s joyful scenes contrasted with earlier this week, when the bodies of hostages Shiri Bibas, her two young sons and another captive Oded Lifschitz were returned to Israel.

About 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, which has killed at least 48,319 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to the Hamas-run health ministry.