Israel has delayed the scheduled release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, citing concerns over the treatment of freed Israeli hostages in Gaza. The decision, announced early Sunday, came hours after six Israeli hostages were handed over by Hamas in a highly publicized transfer that Israeli officials described as “humiliating ceremonies.” The delay has intensified tensions surrounding the fragile truce between Israel and Palestinian militant groups.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the delay, stating that the release of 620 Palestinian detainees would not proceed “until the release of the next hostages has been assured and without the humiliating ceremonies” seen in previous exchanges. The announcement came as military transport vehicles, which typically precede prisoner transport buses, left the gates of Ofer Prison only to turn back, signaling the indefinite postponement of the release.
The mass release was set to be the largest single-day prisoner exchange under the first phase of the ongoing ceasefire agreement. The abrupt delay has raised concerns about the continuity of the truce, with some fearing it could unravel in the coming days.
The Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs confirmed the postponement “until further notice,” prompting distress among families of the detainees. In the West Bank, families who had been waiting in near-freezing temperatures to greet their loved ones were seen dispersing in disappointment, with some breaking down in tears.
Israel’s frustration with the hostage handovers stems from the way Hamas orchestrated the return of the captives. Five of the six Israeli hostages released on Saturday were escorted by masked, armed militants in a staged event broadcast to a large crowd. The United Nations and the International Red Cross condemned the practice as cruel and exploitative.
Particularly concerning to Israeli officials was a Hamas-released video showing two hostages watching another handover and speaking under apparent duress. “These ceremonies demean the dignity of our hostages and are being cynically used for propaganda purposes,” read the Israeli government’s statement.
The six Israeli hostages included three men who were taken from the Nova music festival during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, as well as a man kidnapped while visiting his family in southern Israel. The remaining two hostages had been held in Gaza for over a decade after entering the territory independently.
One of the more controversial releases involved Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen, who were forced to pose alongside Hamas fighters. Footage showed Shem Tov, smiling under duress, kissing two militants on the head, and blowing kisses to the gathered crowd. The hostages were also made to wear fake Israeli military uniforms despite having been civilians at the time of their abduction.
As their families in Israel celebrated their return, the freed hostages shared accounts of their time in captivity. “You’re heroes,” Shem Tov’s parents told him as they embraced in tears. His father revealed that his son had been held in solitary confinement for over 50 days and had lost nearly 40 pounds.
Earlier in the day, two more hostages—40-year-old Israeli-Austrian Tal Shoham and 38-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli Avera Mengistu—were also freed. Mengistu, who was known to have mental health struggles, had entered Gaza voluntarily in 2014. Shoham, taken from Kibbutz Be’eri, was reunited with his wife and two children, who had been released in an earlier exchange. A sixth hostage, 36-year-old Bedouin Israeli Hisham Al-Sayed, was released later in the evening. Al-Sayed, who crossed into Gaza in 2015, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The delay in the prisoner release follows a separate controversy involving a previous hostage handover. On Thursday, Hamas mistakenly provided Israeli authorities with what was believed to be the remains of Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother abducted with her two young children. However, Israeli forensic teams later determined that the body was that of a Palestinian woman. The mistake fueled outrage, with Netanyahu calling it “a cruel and malicious violation.” Hamas later suggested that the mix-up was unintentional.
On Friday, Israeli officials confirmed that the body delivered was indeed Bibas’s, but they refuted Hamas’s claims that she and her children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military, citing forensic evidence and unspecified intelligence, alleged that Hamas militants had killed the Bibas children “with their bare hands.” Hamas dismissed the accusation as “a fabricated excuse to justify Israeli military operations in Gaza.”
Hamas has responded to the prisoner release delay by accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Spokesman Abdel Latif Al-Qanou called Netanyahu’s decision “deliberate stalling” and claimed that it was an attempt to undermine the truce. Israeli officials, however, insist that the postponement is necessary to ensure that future hostage releases proceed without further exploitation.
The ongoing ceasefire, structured in multiple phases, was initially set to last for a week. With that timeline nearing its end and negotiations yet to begin for the second phase, uncertainty looms over whether the agreement can hold.
International mediators, including Egypt and Qatar, have urged both sides to adhere to the ceasefire’s terms and avoid actions that could derail further exchanges. The United Nations has called on all parties to ensure that detainees and hostages are treated humanely and that all agreed-upon conditions are met.
As both Israeli and Palestinian families continue to await news of their loved ones, the diplomatic and military standoff threatens to overshadow any progress made thus far. Whether the truce can withstand this latest setback remains uncertain, with negotiations hanging in the balance and tensions at an all-time high.
