Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to suspend the release of the seventh batch of Palestinian prisoners in the early hours of Sunday, February 23.
The batch, which includes over 600 Palestinian prisoners, was supposed to be released on Saturday, February 22, around midday promptly after Hamas handed six Israeli captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In turn, the ICRC immediately handed over the captives to the Israeli side with no obstruction by Hamas.
However, Israel announced Saturday afternoon that it was delaying the release of the agreed upon batch of the Palestinian prisoners until Israel’s security cabinet convened at 8:00 pm local time.
A couple of hours after the cabinet convened, Israel announced that it would be releasing the seventh batch of Palestinian prisoners late Saturday night.
As the families and supporters of Palestinian prisoners held onto a shred of hope, they waited for the prisoners’ release past midnight.
Nevertheless, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanuahu announced in the early hours of Sunday that the release of the seventh batch of Palestinian prisoners was halted until Israel “guarantees that Hamas will stop its humiliating ceremonies while releasing Israeli captives.”
This comes after captive Omer Shem Tov stunned Israeli audiences during his release ceremony when he kissed the foreheads of two Al-Qassam fighters, believed to be his captors.
What were Hamas’s so-called humiliating ceremonies?
Throughout the seven batches of the ceasefire deal’s first phase, Hamas has demonstrated a remarkable media strategy, addressing the Israeli audience on both the popular and official levels. Israeli media has labeled this strategy psychological warfare and consciousness engineering which has crumbled Israeli propaganda.
Military strength
From day one of the ceasefire deal, Hamas sought to display that it maintained its military capabilities. Al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has deployed large numbers of its personnel affiliated to different units across the Gaza strip. The personnel included Al-Qassam’s special commando unit (known as Nukhba), to whom the October 7 operation is attributed.
This was interpreted as a message to the Israelis that Netanyahu’s “total victory” was nothing but a myth because he was unable to eradicate Hamas, which was one of his goals for launching Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza.
Al-Qassam’s fighters appeared on multiple occasions during Israeli captives’ release ceremonies in Gaza carrying Israeli Tavor rifles. It is estimated that the rifles were taken by Al-Qassam either during the October 7 attacks, or during ground battles with the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) throughout the aggression on Gaza that lasted for 15 months.
During some ceremonies, Al-Qassam’s fighters arrived on top of vehicles confiscated from the IOF. They also used their white Toyota vehicles in all ceremonies, which they had previously used in the October 7 attacks. Israeli media considered this yet another message that Hamas’s military capabilities were unshaken by the prolonged war. On the contrary, its fighters were able to take IOF’s firearms and vehicles as war spoils.
The ceremonies are held in places surrounded with demolished buildings, including the destroyed house of late Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar. These settings are seen as a symbol of resilience and willingness to continue the struggle against the Israel occupation despite the consequences.
Humanitarian treatment
Alongside its military strength and resilience, ِAl-Qassam has also displayed its humanitarian treatment of Israeli captives, which has gained significant traction globally. While the Palestinian prisoners have been released in dire health conditions, Israeli captives released by Al-Qassam appear to be in good health and have consistently and publicly thanked the brigades for treating them well during captivity.
Even when handing over dead bodies, Al-Qassam ensured respect and dignity for the dead Israeli captives by putting them in wooden coffins, while Israel handed over unidentified bodies of Palestinians in bags through the ICRC.
The Gaza media office considered ICRC as a partner in this violation against Palestinians, and accused the organization of “double standards” while dealing with the handover of dead bodies from the Palestinian and Israeli sides.
“While the Red Cross holds solemn official ceremonies when receiving the bodies of Israeli hostages, it delivers the bodies of Palestinian martyrs in blue bags tossed into trucks that lack the most basic elements of human dignity,” said Ismail Thawabta, the head of Gaza’s media office on Thursday, February 20.
Israeli propaganda crumbles
After six batches of captive releases, each full of powerful messages from Hamas, captive Omer Shem Tov stunned Israeli audiences during his release ceremony as part of the seventh batch by kissing the foreheads of two Al-Qassam fighters, believed to be his captors.
For many, this shows Hamas’s benevolence and humanity while treating the captives in its custody. Tov’s gesture reportedly provoked the ire of the Israeli government as it crumbled their propaganda that sought to demonize Hamas.
Another scene was broadcasted by Hamas during the seventh batch wherein two Israeli captives, whose release day has not been determined yet, looked at their counterparts being released in the ceremony.
This scene was used by Netanyahu’s government as a pretext to suspend the release of the Palestinian prisoners in the seven batch, although all agreed upon Israeli captives in the same batch were released as scheduled.
Reactions to Israel’s obstruction of the ceasefire deal
The head of the Palestinian High Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees in the West Bank, Ameen Shoman, described the delay as “an intentional delay, a retaliation policy and a collective punishment against all the Palestinian people, and against the families of prisoners in particular.”
Shoman told Peoples Dispatch that what happened is a “reversal of the agreement with the guarantor states.” He further explained that “there is no relation at all between the meeting of Israel’s security cabinet and the rejection to release the Palestinian prisoners.”
“The details of the release were already agreed upon in the Qatari capital Doha in the presence of all parties, and there is no justification for the Israeli government to prevent the release of our prisoners,” Shoman said.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) condemned Israel’s deliberate delay of the release process. The movement considered Netanyahu’s claims that the captives’ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” as false and a “pretext to evade Israel’s obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.”
The movement stated on Sunday that it “will not engage in any talks with Israel through mediators regarding any steps until the Palestinian prisoners agreed to be released on Saturday are freed.”
Hamas’s senior official, Mahmoud Mardawi, emphasized in a statement on Telegram: “The mediators must oblige the enemy to implement the agreement.”
Netanyahu’s decision was not only slammed by Palestinians. Leader of the Israeli Democratic Party, Yair Golan, wrote on X: “Netanyahu ordered the delay in the release of the prisoners, blatantly violating the agreement and sabotaging the first phase, just as we warned.”
Netanyahu uses Hamas’s “humiliating ceremonies” as a pretext to extend the first phase
Analysts suggest that Netanyahu used what he called “humiliating ceremonies” held by Hamas while releasing Israeli captives as a pretext to extend the first phase of the deal which ends in early March. By doing so, the Israeli Prime Minister attempts to secure the release of more Israeli captives prior to moving to the next phases.
Netanyahu’s plan to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and captives-for-prisoners swap deal has been backed by the US administration. Donald Trump’s special envoy to the “Middle East,” Steve Witcoff is set to visit the region on Wednesday, February 26, to discuss the extension of the phase.
