Hamas says talks with Israel are conditional to prisoners being released

24/2/2025 6:03

Talks with Israel through

mediators on further steps in a ceasefire agreement are

conditional on Palestinian prisoners being released as agreed,

Hamas official Basem Naim said on Sunday.



Israel said on Sunday it was delaying the release of

hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it had planned to free the day

before until militant group Hamas met its conditions.



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Israel

was waiting to deliver the 620 Palestinian prisoners and

detainees "until the release of the next hostages has been

assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies."



That was a reference to recent handovers by Hamas that

U.N. officials have said went against international law because

they were not respectful.



Hamas has made hostages appear on stage in front of

crowds and sometimes speak before they were handed over. Coffins

with hostage remains have also been carried through crowds.



"Any talks with the enemy through mediators regarding

any upcoming steps are conditional on the release of the 620

Palestinian prisoners agreed upon in exchange for the four

bodies and the six Israeli captives who were freed on Saturday,"

Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, told Reuters.



"The mediators must ensure that the enemy adheres to the

terms of the agreement as stated in the agreed-upon text."



The Palestinian Prisoner's Society, a local group that

supports Palestinian prisoners, said Israel is practicing

"state-terrorism against the prisoners and their families".



Ghasan Washahi, whose brother was set to be released on

Saturday, said his family was disappointed with the delay.



"Every time there was a list of prisoners set to be

released, we would wait, hoping Islam's name would be among

them, but it was never there," he said, referring to his

brother.



"My mother even started losing hope that he would be

freed in the deal. And when his name finally appeared, Israel

halted the deal."



Israel and Hamas have frequently accused each other of

violations since the ceasefire started on January 19 but it has

so far continued to hold. Hamas at one stage said it would stop

handing over hostages because of alleged Israeli breaches.



The ceasefire has brought a pause in the fighting, but

prospects of a definitive end to the war remain unclear.



Both sides have said they intend to start talks on a

second stage, which mediators say aims to agree the return of

all remaining hostages and the full withdrawal of Israeli

troops.



The war started when Hamas-led militants launched a

cross-border attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023,

that killed 1,200 and resulted in 251 people being taken

hostage, according to Israeli tallies.



The Israeli retaliatory offensive has killed at least

48,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say, and reduced

much of the enclave to rubble, leaving some hundreds of

thousands in makeshift shelters and dependent on aid trucks.