Media: Hamas moves Israeli prisoners to secure tunnels as Gaza ceasefire talks falter

Israeli prisoners were relocated to secure tunnels in Gaza following an escalation in tensions between Hamas and Israel.

This move came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to block humanitarian aid shipments, close border crossings, and target multiple sites in Gaza with airstrikes, Caliber.Az reports, citing Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

The prisoners, who had been receiving medical treatment in more secure facilities, were transferred to ensure their safety in response to increasing risks posed by their exposed locations.

A senior Hamas leader revealed that the Joint Operations Room of Gaza’s resistance factions had agreed to heighten combat readiness in anticipation of possible scenarios after Netanyahu's efforts to undermine the ongoing ceasefire agreement.

Instructions were issued to the groups securing Israeli prisoners to revert to prior protocols, cancelling any ease of conditions that had been introduced at the beginning of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which began in January.

The leader further explained that the decision to move the injured prisoners to secure tunnels, despite their ongoing medical care, was necessitated by the vulnerability of their current locations, particularly after the Israeli government’s actions to intensify military operations in Gaza. The prisoners had sustained injuries during Israeli bombardments, and Hamas had been providing medical assistance within the constraints of available resources.

Meanwhile, a Hamas official stated that the delays by Israel were not only prolonging the conflict but also endangering the lives of Israeli prisoners who might not survive the ongoing conditions.

The official suggested that Israel’s hesitance in proceeding with the agreed prisoner exchange could have grave consequences, as the window for saving the prisoners, particularly those injured during Israeli airstrikes, was rapidly closing.

The Hamas leader also emphasised that the group had been forced to take these measures as a response to Netanyahu’s political manoeuvring, which, according to him, aimed to continue the war and sidestep the framework of the ceasefire agreement. Despite the political complexities, Hamas maintained that it would not succumb to what it described as Netanyahu’s “deceptive intentions” regarding the prisoner exchange.

By Aghakazim Guliyev