Our senior international reporter writes from JerusalemIsrael’s decision to delay the release of Palestinians held in its prisons, who had been due to be exchanged for three Israelis held in Gaza, is the latest crisis to hit the fragile ceasefire deal. How serious it is, is another question.The ostensible reason for the delay was the chaotic crowd scenes in two locations in Gaza, during the release of the three Israelis today, one held by Hamas and two by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.As in previous releases Hamas has gone out of its way to stage-manage the optics of the release, complete with a military uniform provided for female soldier Agam Berger, stages, banners, the setting – Khan Younis, close to home of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the ruined Jabalia refugee camp.Inevitably the releases were accompanied by scores of armed men escorting the released Israelis to be handed over to the Red Cross for repatriation.The messaging has not been lost on Israeli and international observers. Hamas and PIJ, despite their decimation during 15 months of war, are keen to show they still exist and are able to put on a show of force with Israeli citizens at the centre.Politically it makes the promises of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a “total victory” against Hamas ring hollow.All of which has led to this new – and probably temporary crisis – as, in the midst of the releases in Gaza, Netanyahu put out a statement condemning the scenes.“I view with utmost severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages. This is additional proof of the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas terrorist organization.“I demand that the mediators make certain that such terrible scenes do not recur, and guarantee the safety of our hostages. Whoever dares to harm our hostages will pay the price.”A little later his office briefed media that the release of Palestinians under the deal would be delayed until the hostages safe release was “guaranteed.”The reality is that this is a largely manufactured crisis in a deal where Israel has tried hard to control the optics, not least around the release of Palestinians whose families have been warned not to celebrate in public.But with US president Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying that an American hostage is expected to be released later this week, following a meeting in which he reportedly told Netanyahu that Trump expected all phases of the complex agreement to be honoured, it seems unlikely that Netanyahu will risk torpedoing the deal.The wide popularity of the ceasefire deal among Israelis, relieved to see their fellow citizens released home week after week, would also seem to militate against a serious crisis that would halt the process.More likely is that this latest episode is simply an attempt on Netanyahu’s part to show that Israel not Hamas controls the narrative.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that the death toll from the wa
Israel eliberează prizonieri palestinieni după eliberarea mai multor ostatici din Gaza – în direct
