Two Egyptian security sources have revealed that mediators fear the collapse of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. This comes after the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) expressed concerns over Israel’s lack of seriousness in implementing the agreement and announced the suspension of hostage releases until further notice.
Hamas negotiators told Reuters that American guarantees for the ceasefire are no longer valid in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Gaza’s residents from the strip. The movement postponed further talks until it receives clear signals of Washington’s commitment to the phased agreement.
The spokesperson for Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, announced on Monday evening that the handover of Israeli prisoners in the upcoming batch has been delayed due to the occupation’s repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Through his Telegram channel, Abu Ubaida stated: “The resistance leadership has been monitoring, over the past three weeks, the enemy’s violations and its failure to abide by the agreement’s terms—delaying the return of displaced individuals to northern Gaza, targeting them with shelling and gunfire across the sector, and not facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid as agreed, while the resistance has fully honored its commitments.”
He continued: “As a result, the release of Zionist captives scheduled for Saturday, February 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice, pending the occupation’s adherence to the agreement and retroactive compensation for past violations. We reaffirm our commitment to the agreement as long as the occupation abides by it.”
This announcement triggered significant reactions in Israel. The Israeli Minister of War, Yisrael Katz, stated, “Hamas’ announcement to halt hostage releases is a violation of the ceasefire agreement.” He further ordered the Israeli army to maintain the highest level of preparedness in Gaza.
In response, the Israeli army raised its state of alert among its remaining forces in Gaza and canceled soldiers’ leave. Meanwhile, the Religious Zionism Party, led by extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called on the war cabinet—set to meet on Tuesday—to scrap the Gaza agreement and resume military operations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office commented, saying: “Tel Aviv insists on adhering to the ceasefire agreement as written and takes any violation seriously.”
Despite this, Israeli occupation forces continue to breach the ceasefire in Gaza, particularly by failing to implement the humanitarian protocol linked to the agreement, which ensures the entry of urgent relief supplies, shelter materials, and tents necessary for displaced Palestinians amid the unprecedented destruction of their homes.
Government authorities in Gaza confirm that only a quarter of the required shelter tents have arrived since the ceasefire took effect on January 19.
On Monday, a Palestinian was martyred by Israeli occupation gunfire in the vicinity of Al-Shuja’iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, while another individual was injured east of Khan Yunis, marking yet another ceasefire violation.
Local sources reported that Israeli forces opened fire on civilians near Al-Shuja’iyya, leading to the martyrdom of one individual.
In a separate incident, local sources confirmed that another person was wounded near the entrance of Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, after Israeli forces shot at him.
Since the ceasefire was declared on January 19, Israeli occupation forces have repeatedly violated the agreement, resulting in multiple Palestinian martyrs and wounded civilians.
