Latest Hamas Negotiating Threat

Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas, has announced that the terrorist group will delay the release of three more Israeli hostages that was due to take place on Saturday 15th February.

Hamas accuses Israel of failing to meets its obligations under the ceasefire-and-hostage-release agreement over the past three weeks, first by delaying the return of displaced Gazans to the north of the Gaza Strip, then opening fire on some of them, and also by obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid.

The terrorists are demanding “retroactive compensation” for these failures, or they will not release any more hostages until further notice.

As intended, this has produced a response from Israelis who are desperate to secure the release of all the rest of the hostages.

The Hostages and Missing Families group says it has contacted the mediators of the agreement, demanding assistance in finding an effective solution to restore the hostage releases. They also appealed to the Israeli Government saying:

“We call on the Israeli government to refrain from actions that endanger the execution of
the signed agreement and to ensure its continuation, securing the return of our 76 brothers and sisters.”

It is worth noting that this threat by Hamas comes in the first week of negotiations over a possible second phase of the agreement, and thus has the appearance of a tactic intended to force Israel to accept more of Hamas’ demands.

This report from Sky News highlights the fact that the flow of humanitarian aid is much improved, and the first two complaints raised came about through Israeli responses to violations of the agreement by Hamas.