Hamas has used the leverage of Saturday’s release of Israeli hostages to compel Israel to step up deliveries of commitments laid out in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan.
Spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou denied Israeli and US charges that Hamas was trying to break the agreement. “We are eager to implement it and oblige the occupation to fully implement it,” he said in a statement.
From the outset of the ceasefire on January 19th until this week, Hamas argued Israel had not fulfilled the terms of the deal. It said at least 27 Gazans had been killed, the return of Gazans to the north of the strip had been hindered and critical supplies listed in the deal had not been allowed into Gaza.
Hamas has also expressed concern that stage-two negotiations – involving the release of the remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops – did not begin on time last week.
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US president Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans out of the Gaza Strip and turn it into a tourist resort also led Hamas to question the US commitment to the ceasefire.
Coinciding with the arrival on Wednesday of 801 trucks loaded with supplies, Hamas announced three hostages will be freed in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners. This will be the sixth such swap.
Hamas still holds 73 of the 251 Israelis captured on October 7th, 2023, who are to be freed along with a total of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Following talks in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Hamas said in a Telegram statement that it had received assurances that Israel would abide by the terms of the deal “especially with regard to securing housing for our people and urgently bringing in prefabricated houses ... tents, heavy equipment, medical supplies, fuel and the continued flow of relief and everything stipulated in the agreement”.
[ Gaza ceasefire back on track after Hamas says it will release hostages ]
Hamas also said that Egypt and Qatar “would follow up on all of this to remove obstacles and close gaps”.
Hamas is eager to see that Israel permits the entry of mobile homes and machinery to clear rubble. They have been waiting for Israeli clearance on the Egyptian side of the border.
While the Israeli government is under pressure from hostage families and most of the public to get the hostages home, to maintain the movement’s credibility Hamas must improve the situation of the displaced 91 per cent of 2.3 million Gazans.
Mobile homes are essential as rain has swamped makeshift shelters and at night temperatures fall to 5 or 6 degrees. Without earth-moving equipment Gazans cannot begin to repair roads and infrastructure ahead of reconstruction, which is meant to begin during the third phase of the ceasefire deal – if it survives.
