Hamas Refuses to Release Hostages, Calls for International Support

Thursday, 13 February 2025 | Hamas on Wednesday said it would not release all of the Israeli hostages on Saturday and called for three days of solidarity marches around the world in protest of US President Donald Trump's plans to remove Palestinians from Gaza in order to rebuild it.

"We call our masses, our nation, and free people around the world in a global movement against the plans to uproot our Palestinian people, in the coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to march against the plan of the occupation and its supporters," Hamas said in a statement.

Senior spokesman for Hamas Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera the terror group had no intention of releasing all of the hostages on Saturday. "Trump's announcement created tension and led to Israel avoiding its commitments to the deal," he said adding that threats of a renewed war in Gaza if the hostages were not freed, made by Defense Minister Israel Katz, were silly and banal.

"Trump's threats mean nothing and do not scare us," he said. "Egypt and Qatar are making great efforts to push Israel to meet its obligations and we are pleased with the official position of Arab states who reject the plan to uproot Palestinians. The administration of Gaza is a Palestinian affair and we will not be dictated to. We are committed to the deal as it was agreed and will not be releasing all of the prisoners next Saturday."

The senior Hamas official did not rule out the possibility of releasing three hostages as originally planned in the sixth phase of the deal this coming Saturday. Hamas triggered a major crisis in the agreement when it announced two days ago that it was postponing the phase, citing alleged Israeli violations, including delays in delivering caravans and tents to Palestinian refugees.

Abu Zuhri’s remarks come amid growing optimism from both Hamas and the mediating countries, Qatar and Egypt, which are working to find a compromise to get the deal back on track. Another senior Hamas official said "positive signals" had been received, while an Egyptian source stated that the parties were "close to an agreement." According to the source, Israel has committed to delivering more tents, shelters, and heavy equipment to Gaza. Shortly after, reports from Gaza indicated that dozens of trucks "loaded with tents" had entered northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing.