Israel indefinitely delays Palestinian prisoner return after hostages ‘humiliated'
Israel was expected to free 620 Palestinians, including 50 serving life sentences, but they remained behind bars.
On Saturday, vehicles apparently carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in, hours after another cruel handover by the terror group.
Benjamin Netanyahu's office said: '[Because of] repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes, it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies.'
Ezzat El Rashq, a Hamas official, said the Israeli prime minister's statement was 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'.
Abdul Latif al-Qanou, another Hamas spokesman, told Al Araby, the Qatari TV channel, that there were 'positive signs' the prisoners would be released soon, and called on mediators to act 'immediately' to free them.
Qanou also said that Hamas will be ready to move to phase two of the ceasefire and release all hostages when 'the attack is completely stopped, Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip in full and the reconstruction process begins'.
The Telegraph understands that negotiations over phase two have begun, but that Israel wants to expand the first phase and have more hostages released.
Saturday's hostage handover was met with fury in Israel, in part because Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert and Eliya Cohen looked pale and emaciated.
Mr Shem Tov was seen waving, smiling and kissing the forehead of an armed Hamas member on a stage, a moment orchestrated and filmed by the terror group for its propaganda.
Mr Shem Tov's father later said: 'Omer said they told him what to do. You can see in the footage that someone came up to him and told him what to do.'
Abera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, the other two hostages released on Saturday, had spent more than 10 years in captivity and were both suffering from mental illnesses.
Mr Sayed, an Israeli Bedouin, was the only hostage returned from Gaza in this round of the ceasefire who was not humiliated and put on a stage in front of a large crowd.
Mr Sayed's father, Sha'ban al-Sayed, said on Sunday that his son was not well.
He told Walla, the Israeli news site: 'He is broken and may have been held alone. It is strange for him to see people. He does not speak…'
Mr Sayed senior told Channel 12 news: 'He is not well. He was not in our world. A kind of Tarzan after living for 10 years with animals. He does not communicate.'
Hamas also brought two hostages, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, to watch their fellow captives being freed in Gaza on Saturday, filming them inside a car where they were heard pleading to be released themselves.
Mr Gilboa-Dalal's father, Ilan Dalal, said on Sunday: 'They forced them to watch their friends being released and then returned them to the tunnels. There is no greater cruelty. They can't continue. It's simply inhumane.'
Donald Trump also slammed Hamas for the way it treated the Israeli hostages.
The US president said: 'We had the hostages given back today, it's disgraceful what's going on there. They're not in great shape, but we've also seen them in worse shape. What a terrible situation it is.'
The bodies of hostages Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, Tsahi Idan, and Shlomo Mantzur are expected to be returned next week in accordance with the ceasefire deal.
Meanwhile, Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, said on Sunday that he has instructed the military to prepare to remain in some of the occupied West Bank's urban refugee camps 'for the coming year'.
The Israeli military said it was expanding the raid in the West Bank to other areas and was sending tanks to Jenin, a militant stronghold.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
Netanyahu says Gaza City will be sacked unless Hamas agrees to all of Israel's demands
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Israelis Saturday night that he only plans to halt the take over Gaza City if Hamas agrees to all of the Jewish state's demands for ending the war — after the terror group seemed open to a partial cease-fire for the first time. 'We will agree to a deal on the condition that all the hostages are released in a single phase and in accordance with our terms for ending the war,' read the statement from Netanyahu's office. 7 Netanyahu said Israel is not interested in a partial deal. Ronen Zvulun/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock Those terms include the disarming of Hamas soldiers, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli control of the Gaza perimeter, and the installation of non-Hamas and non-Palestinian Authority governance that will live in peace with the Jewish state, according to the prime minister. Netanyahu's comments come after reports that the terror group had backtracked on its position and sent a message to mediators in Cairo this week expressing readiness to agree on a 'partial deal' for the first time. 7 Hamas had previously said it was only willing to accept a comprehensive peace deal. REUTERS Previously, Hamas leaders had said they were only willing to settle for a full cease-fire deal, leading to the collapse of hostage talks in Qatar last month. The 'partial deal' reportedly involves the release of 10 living hostages, held in Hamas captivity for nearly 700 days, and 18 dead ones in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners — a proposal that mirrors the US-backed Qatari deal first floated in May that the terror group balked at. There are 50 Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Hamas' about face was first reported by Israeli television Friday evening, citing a classified document it had received from Netanyahu. 7 People rallied on the eve of a national strike in Israel. AFP via Getty Images Meanwhile, thousands of protestors rallied in Tel Aviv Saturday night to put pressure on the Israeli government to agree to a hostage deal. The showing comes ahead of a planned nationwide strike Sunday meant to protest the expansion of the war in Gaza. Einav Zangauker, mother of Hamas-held captive Matan Zangauker, said the strike was 'only the beginning.' 'We'll stop the country tomorrow for our lives here, for our children, for the state of Israel,' she told the crowd at the rally, the Times of Israel reported. 'We can't take any more.' 7 Thousands rallied in Tel Aviv calling for the release of the hostages and an end to the war. AP 'We've stopped waiting for Netanyahu to stop the war when it's convenient for him politically,' she added. 'We demand quiet, security, a future, and the end of the war.' 7 Hamas has expressed willingness for a partial cease-fire deal in Gaza for the first time this week. Meanwhile, fighting ramped up north of Tel Aviv as Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah facility and a tunnel Friday belonging to the terror group in southern Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces reported. The IDF said the Hezbollah facility was a violation of the Israel-Lebanon cease-fire, which was ironed out in October 2024. 'We will not budge from our policy of maximum enforcement and will not allow threats to arise against the residents of the north and all citizens of Israel,' Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. 7 Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah facility and a tunnel in Lebannon Friday. AFP via Getty Images Last week, the Lebanese government approved a US-backed roadmap to disarm the Iran-linked terror group, infuriating Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, who threatened there would be 'no life in Lebanon' should its weapons be taken by force.
Chicago Tribune
22 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Israel prepares to move Palestinians to southern Gaza ahead of planned military offensive, as Israelis urge mass protests over war
NAHARIYA, Israel — Israel announced Saturday that it is preparing to move Palestinians from combat zones to southern Gaza as plans move ahead for a military offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas. The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, said the supply of tents to the territory would resume on Sunday. The military said it had no comment on when the mass movement of Palestinians would begin, but Defense Minister Israel Katz said on social media that 'we are now in the stage of discussions to finalize the plan to defeat Hamas in Gaza.' Meanwhile, anxious families of Israeli hostages called for a 'nationwide day of stoppage' in Israel on Sunday to express growing frustration over 22 months of war. Families of hostages fear the coming offensive further endangers the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, just 20 of them thought to still be alive. They and other Israelis were horrified by the recent release of videos showing emaciated hostages speaking under duress and pleading for help and food. The families and supporters have pressed the government for a deal to stop the war — a call that some former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs have made as well in recent weeks. A group representing the families has urged Israelis into the streets on Sunday. 'Across the country, hundreds of citizen-led initiatives will pause daily life and join the most just and moral struggle: the struggle to bring all 50 hostages home,' it said in a statement. 'I want to believe that there is hope, and it will not come from above, it will come only from us,' said Dana Silberman Sitton, sister of Shiri Bibas and aunt of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were killed in captivity. She spoke at a weekly rally in Tel Aviv, along with Pushpa Joshi, sister of kidnapped Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi, a student seized from a kibbutz. 'I miss my best friend,' Pushpa said. An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a baby girl and her parents on Saturday, Nasser hospital officials and witnesses said. Motasem al-Batta, his wife and the girl were killed in their tent in the crowded Muwasi area. 'Two and a half months, what has she done?' neighbor Fathi Shubeir asked, sweating as temperatures in the shattered territory soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). 'They are civilians in an area designated safe.' Israel's military said it couldn't comment on the strike without more details. It said it is dismantling Hamas' military capabilities and takes precautions not to harm civilians. Muwasi is one of the heavily populated areas in Gaza where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel plans to widen the coming military offensive, along with Gaza City and 'central camps' — an apparent reference to the built-up Nuseirat and Bureij camps in central Gaza. Israel may be using the threat to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages taken in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. Elsewhere, an official at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said it received the bodies of six people who were killed in the Zikim area of northern Gaza, as well as four people killed in shelling. Another 11 malnutrition-related deaths occurred in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory's Health Ministry said Saturday, with one child among them. That brings malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 251. The United Nations is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Palestinians are drinking contaminated water as diseases spread, while some Israeli leaders continue to talk openly about the mass relocation of people from Gaza. A 20-year old Palestinian woman described as being in a 'state of severe physical deterioration' died Friday after being transferred from Gaza to Italy for treatment, the hospital said Saturday. The U.N. and partners say getting food and other aid into the territory of over 2 million people, and then on to distribution points, remains highly challenging with Israeli restrictions and pressure from crowds of hungry Palestinians. The U.N. human rights office says at least 1,760 people were killed while seeking aid between May 27 and Wednesday. It says 766 were killed along routes of supply convoys and 994 in the vicinity of 'non-U.N. militarized sites,' a reference to the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which since May has been the primary distributor of aid in Gaza. The U.S. State Department on Saturday said all visitor visas for people from Gaza are being stopped while a review is carried out of how 'a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas' were issued in recent days. The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 61,897 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Druze demand self-determination in largest protest held since deadly clashes in Syria
BEIRUT — Hundreds of people demonstrated in Syria's southern city of Sweida and elsewhere Saturday to demand the right to self-determination for the Druze minority, in the largest protests to take place since deadly clashes in the area last month. Some of the protesters waved Israeli flags to thank Israel for intervening on their side during heavy clashes in mid-July between Druze militias and armed Bedouin tribal groups alongside allied government forces. Saturday's demonstration comes as Syria grapples with deep ethnic and religious divisions after the collapse of the Assad family rule in December. The transition has proved fragile, with renewed violence erupting in March along the coast and in July in Sweida, a city with a mostly Druze population, highlighting the continued threat to peace after years of civil war. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian war monitor, said the protesters expressed their rejection of the interim central government in Damascus and demanded that those responsible for atrocities against Druze be brought to justice. The observatory said some of the protesters called on Israel to intervene to support their demand of self-determination. Rayyan Maarouf, who heads the activist media collective Suwayda 24, said that Saturday's demonstration in Sweida was the largest since last month's clashes and that there were similar rallies in areas including the nearby towns of Shahba and Salkhad. He added that this is the first time people protested under the theme of self-determination. 'This is an unprecedented change for the Druze in Syria,' Maarouf told the Associated Press. Clashes erupted July 13 between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Sweida. Government forces then intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up essentially siding with the Bedouins against the Druze. Israel intervened in defense of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. Atrocities were committed during the clashes that left hundreds of people dead. The new interim government set up a committee last month tasked with investigating attacks on civilians in the sectarian violence in the country's south. It is supposed to issue a report within three months. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
