'Enemy has no choice but to start second phase of negotiations': Hamas
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The Hamas Resistance movement warns the occupation against breaching the ceasefire agreement, calling for its commitment to negotiations.
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Freed Palestinian prisoners wave from a bus as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Thursday, February 27, 2025. (AP)
"The road in front of the enemy's false excuses has been blocked, and it now has no choice but to commence the second phase negotiations," the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas said in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to Hamas, the Israeli occupation's attempts, spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to backtrack and obstruct the ceasefire deal "will only increase the captives and their families' suffering."
Therefore, the only way to release the captives is through negotiating and committing to the agreement, the statement added.
Hamas also reiterated its complete commitment to the ceasefire agreement's provisions, as well as its readiness to begin the second phase of negotiations.
This comes after hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were liberated from Israeli prisons as part of the seventh batch of the captive exchange. 620 liberated prisoners, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Media Office, were transported to Ramallah in the West Bank.
الأسرى الفلسطينيون المحررون في قطاع #غزة يدوسون الملابس التي أجبرهم الاحتلال على ارتدائها، والتي حملت رموزاً وعبارات إسرائيلية.#فلسطين pic.twitter.com/hBuODcwRcC
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) February 27, 2025
In exchange, the bodies of four Israeli captives were handed over to the International Red Cross. Hamas spokesperson Abdul-Latif al-Qanou had announced that "the captive exchange will take place simultaneously with the handover of the Israeli bodies, in a new mechanism that would guarantee the occupation's adherence."
Al-Qanou added that Egyptian mediators "guaranteed the exchange", while noting that no "proposal regarding the second phase has been presented to the movement, despite its readiness for it and its keenness to move forward with it to complete all phases of the agreement."
The International Red Cross reported being present at the Karem Abu Salem crossing and the European hospital in Gaza to facilitate the 7th exchange between Hamas and the Israeli occupation.
First moments|Freed Palestinian prisoners are warmly welcomed in Ramallah as they reunite with their families following their release as part of the resistance exchange deal. pic.twitter.com/kZrP4RJqiQ
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 26, 2025
