Hamas warns Israel that aid delays affect prisoner exchange schedule

Hamas officials warned Israel yesterday that delays in the delivery of aid in the Gaza Strip may affect the prisoner exchange schedule.

“The Israeli occupation’s ongoing delay and failure to adhere to the humanitarian aspect of the ceasefire agreement, by not allowing the entry of fuel, tents, caravans and heavy equipment, will affect the agreement’s implementation,” said one official.

Another Hamas source, who is informed about the negotiations, said that the movement has asked the mediators “to oblige the [Israeli] occupation to implement the agreement and not create” further crises.

“The resistance factions are dismayed by the [Israeli] occupation’s delay and failure to adhere to implementing the humanitarian aspect protocol,” said the source. “We hope that the mediators and guarantors to the ceasefire deal will do their utmost to ensure that Israel implements the deal terms and introduces these materials.”

The source also warned that any delay will subsequently lead to delaying the release of Israeli captives from Gaza. Both sources pointed out that according to the agreement, “Israel must allow the entry of aid and humanitarian supplies in the first week of the ceasefire.”

The annex to the humanitarian protocol makes it clear that “200,000 equipped tents, 60,000 caravans [mobile homes] must be brought in, as well as sufficient quantities of fuel and materials to restore the work of hospitals, operate bakeries and water stations, and bring in heavy equipment to open streets and carry out repairs,” said the sources.

The Hamas negotiating team that arrived in Cairo on Monday evening met on Wednesday afternoon with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo. They discussed the mechanisms for implementing the deal’s terms and the upcoming prisoner exchange arrangements scheduled for today [Thursday], and Saturday,” noting that these meetings “pave the way for starting the second phase” of the negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

In the same context, Hamas pointed out that the residents of the northern Gaza Strip are suffering from a major humanitarian disaster due to the massive destruction of homes and infrastructure by the Israeli occupation army. It added that the humanitarian reality in the north of Gaza requires Arab and Islamic countries and the international community to shoulder their responsibilities by pressuring the Israeli occupation to accelerate the pace of bringing in tents and temporary homes, and to intensify the entry of aid and relief.

The movement noted that the efforts made to shelter displaced Palestinians and bring in tents are still far less than required, given the extent of the destruction and humanitarian disaster caused by Israel.

The occupation state denied all of the Hamas claims, dismissing them as “fake news”.

READ: Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly calls for ending humanitarian crisis in Gaza