The Japan Times - Hamas says Gaza truce gravely endangered after Israel's prisoner delay

The first phase of the truce ends early in March and details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed.

With tensions again hanging over the deal -- which halted more than 15 months of war -- Israel on Sunday announced an expansion of military operations in the occupied West Bank.

The military said a tank division will be sent in to the West Bank city of Jenin, the first such deployment to the territory in 20 years.

Since the Gaza ceasefire's first phase began on January 19, Hamas has released 25 living Israeli hostages in ceremonies before crowds at various locations in Gaza.

Armed masked fighters escort the captives onto stages adorned with slogans. The hostages have spoken and waved in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called "humiliating ceremonies".

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 six Israeli captives on Saturday but Israel put off the planned release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said postponing the release exposes "the entire agreement to grave danger".

Naim said the mediators, "especially the Americans", must pressure Israel's government "to implement the agreement as it is and immediately release our prisoners."

Both sides have accused each other of violations during the ceasefire but it has so far held.

- Israeli tanks in Jenin -

Early Sunday, Netanyahu's office said that, "In light of Hamas' repeated violations -- including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda -- it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists."

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war. The attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, and Israel's retaliation killed more than 48,000, according to figures from both sides.

The war drew in Iran-backed groups around the region, including in Lebanon where Israel in November reached a separate ceasefire with the Hezbollah group.

Alongside the Gaza war -- which displaced almost the entire population of 2.4 million -- violence has also soared in the West Bank.

On Sunday, Israel's military said "a tank division will operate in Jenin" as part of "expanding" operations in the area, where the military began a major raid against Palestinian militants just after the Gaza truce began.

The United Nations has said the military activities have led to "forced displacement" of 40,000 Palestinians from Jenin and other refugee camps.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said he has told troops "to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism."

In the West Bank as well as in Gaza, families of Palestinian prisoners had waited with uncertainly into the night on Saturday, hoping for their release.

In the city of Khan Yunis, 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.

- 'Parading of bodies' -

The six Israelis released Saturday were the last group of living hostages set to be freed under the truce's first phase.

At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, hostages Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23, waved from a stage, flanked by masked Hamas militants, before being transferred to the Red Cross.

"I saw the look on his face. He's calm, he knows he's coming back home... He's a real hero," said Wenkert's friend Rory Grosz.

In Rafah, southern Gaza, militants handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38.

A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was later released in private and taken back to Israeli territory, the military said.

Hamas said they freed Sayed in private to "honour and respect" Palestinians inside Israel.

On Thursday, the first transfer of dead hostages under the truce sparked anger in Israel after analysis concluded that captive Shiri Bibas's remains were not among the four bodies returned.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk condemned the "parading of bodies" during a ceremony in which coffins, with pictures of the dead attached, were displayed on a slogan-bedecked stage.

Bibas and her two young sons became symbols of Israel's hostage ordeal.

Hamas admitted a possible "mix-up of bodies", and late Friday handed over more human remains, which the Bibas family said had been identified as the mother's.

Hamas has long maintained that an Israeli air strike killed Bibas and her sons.

Forensics expert Chen Kugel, however, said an autopsy of their remains found "no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing".

burs-it/dv

M.Saito--JT