Israeli forces were preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday as Israel said Hamas violated the terms of a ceasefire agreement that went into effect last week when Hamas accused Israel of stopping.
Officials on both sides said they were in contact with mediators to try to resolve the conflict – one of the most important issues between the parties since a ceasefire has at least temporarily halted fighting after 15 months of devastating war.
Under the terms of the first phase of the deal agreed this month, Israel was expected to withdraw some of its forces to allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans to head north after being captured and imprisoned on Saturday.
But the Israeli government said Hamas violated the agreement by not returning the female Israeli hostages first and by failing to provide Israel with information about the condition of the other hostages, as stipulated in the agreement.
Israeli officials say that under the deal, Arbel Yehud, an Israeli citizen captured in Gaza, was to be one of the four women released on Saturday.
The freed hostages were all soldiers who had been guarding the Gaza camp and were kidnapped there on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack on Israel that started the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it would not allow Gazans to head north “until the liberation of Arbel Yehud is arranged,” leaving the timeline for the withdrawal of troops and the return of civilians unclear.
The Israeli government also said in a statement on Sunday that Mr Netanyahu “stands firm” on that decision. Mrs. Yehud was also expected to be released along with about 100 other hostages within a week of the ceasefire in November 2023.
In addition, Hamas was supposed to provide Israel with a list late Saturday detailing the status of the remaining 26 hostages expected to be released in the next five weeks. An Israeli official, who did not want to be named to discuss a sensitive issue, said on Sunday afternoon that Israel had not yet received the list.
Israeli officials have said they believe many or most of the hostages scheduled to be released under the first phase of the deal are alive, but the status of some of them is unclear.
Hamas on Sunday accused Israel of stalling and violating the agreement by preventing displaced Gazans from moving north.
In a statement, Hamas said it had informed mediators that Ms. Yehud was alive and had given “all the guarantees necessary for her release,” adding that it was following up with mediators in hopes of resolving the dispute.
The ceasefire was brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt. This Israeli official said on Sunday that Israel had not received any evidence from Hamas regarding Ms. Jehud.
But it appears that Hamas may not arrest Ms. Yehud.
Hussein al-Batsh, the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a small armed group that sometimes opposes Hamas in Gaza, told The New York Times on Sunday that Mrs. Yehud is in the custody of the Quds Brigades, the group’s military wing. He said Ms. Yehud was not released on Saturday due to what he called “technical reasons.”
Mr al-Batsh added that the top leaders of Islamic Jihad participated in the talks with the mediators. The group’s spokesman, Mohammed Al Haj Mousa, then said in a statement that Ms. Yehud would be released before next Saturday to allow the expelled Gazans to return to the north as soon as possible.
But Israel has denied that an agreement has been reached for Ms. Yehud’s return. An official familiar with the details said on Sunday evening that communication with mediators is still ongoing and reiterated that Israel will not allow the expelled Gazans to move north until the issue of Mrs. Yehud’s release is resolved.
On Sunday, images of a large crowd of Palestinian evacuees waiting near the Netzarim tunnel, an area built by the Israeli military that bisects Gaza, to return to the north were circulated in Palestinian media.
Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency, reported that one person was killed and several others were injured west of Nuseirat in central Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of people waiting to return to the north. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.
Ghada al-Kurd, 37, said he chose to stay in central Gaza on Sunday even though he wished to return to his home in the north. “I will not leave until everything is clear,” he said. “I will not risk my life – those soldiers cannot be trusted,” he added.
Ms al-Kurd, who left her home with her two daughters behind in Gaza City in the first weeks of the war, was once again left wondering when she would come to see them. “Here we are just waiting, we feel stressed and worried,” he said. “They are playing with our destiny,” he added.
Jonathan Reiss, Gabby Sobelman again Mira Noveck responsible reporting.
Source link
