True to Form: Hamas Delays Hostage Release, Claims Israel Violated Ceasefire Terms

The conflict between Israel and Hamas grinds on. There have been some exchanges of hostages for prisoners, with Israel surrendering many captured Hamas terrorists for every Israeli (or other) citizen redeemed from captivity under Hamas - and the photos of some of those hostages were shocking, with the released captives appearing weak, sick and starving - and they were made to walk a gauntlet of masked, armed, shouting masked fighters on their way to release.

Now Hamas is indicating they will "postpone" any further releases of hostages, claiming Israel has violated terms of the cease-fire.

In a post on X, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said that the handover of the prisoners “who were scheduled to be released next Saturday … will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits to and compensates for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively.”
He added: “We affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them.”
In response to Hamas’ announcement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he has instructed the country’s military to “prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza.”
The defense minister described Hamas’ move as a “complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages.”

This has the potential to restart open hostilities; Hamas is treading on the "FO" part of that famous acronym.

Any action by Israel likely has little or nothing to do with this pronouncement. It seems very likely indeed, given the visibly poor condition of the latest hostages released, that the remaining captives may be in such shockingly poor condition that Hamas doesn't want them seen - which raises some speculation as to just how maltreated these people have been, given the behavior of Hamas towards the hostages they have released.

Former Jerusalem Post editor Avy Mayer also broke this news on X, noting correctly that it is Hamas, not Israel, that has broken the terms of the cease-fire:

🔴 BREAKING: Hamas announces that it is postponing the upcoming release of Israeli hostages “until further notice,” in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) February 10, 2025

Any response by Israel is likely to be vigorous.

In response to Hamas’ announcement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he has instructed the country’s military to “prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza.”
The defense minister described Hamas’ move as a “complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages.”
Israel’s far-right former minister of national security, Itamar Ben Gvir, said Israel should respond with a “massive attack on Gaza.”

Here in the United States, we should note that we're not exactly safe from people like Hamas. They have supporters here; on our college campuses, among other places. And it's a near-certainty that Islamic terrorists have already infiltrated the United States, among the millions of unchecked, unvetted people who have poured across our unguarded borders over the last four years of the feckless Biden administration. My friend and colleague streiff commented on this possibility on Sunday:

Streiff writes:

There is no doubt that some of the perpetrators of October 7 used the out-of-control southern border to enter the United States. There is also no doubt that there was some degree of coordination between the organizers of pro-terrorist "river to the sea," tablecloth-wearing protests, and Hamas leaders in Gaza or Qatar.

It's a chilling possibility, made all the more so by the fact that this has almost certainly happened.

I'll say it again: There will be no lasting peace in the Middle East until Hamas, Hezbollah, and other such groups are no longer a factor.