Hamas said on Thursday, February 13, that it was committed to honoring a truce with Israel that is facing its worst crisis since it took effect, and added that mediators were pushing for hostages to be released this weekend as planned.
Palestinian sources reported progress in efforts to salvage the ceasefire, which was plunged into uncertainty after Hamas warned it would not release hostages on Saturday, citing Israeli violations. Israel hit back, saying that if Hamas failed to free captives on schedule, it would resume its war in Gaza.
"We are keen to implement it [the ceasefire] and oblige the occupation to fully abide by it. Mediators are pressuring [Israel] to complete the full implementation of the agreement, oblige the occupation to abide by the humanitarian protocol and resume the exchange process on Saturday," Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said.
Egyptian state-linked media said construction equipment, including bulldozers and trucks carrying mobile homes, was ready to enter Gaza from Egypt on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump had warned that "hell" would break loose if the Palestinian militant group failed to release "all" the hostages by noon on Saturday. If fighting resumes, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said, "the new Gaza war (...) will not end without the defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages."
"It will also allow the realization of US President Trump's vision for Gaza," he added. Trump, whose return to the White House has emboldened the Israeli far right, sparked a global outcry with a proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and to move its 2.4 million residents to Egypt or Jordan.
The hints of progress came as mediators Qatar and Egypt pushed to salvage the ceasefire agreement that came into effect last month, while Hamas said its top negotiator was in Cairo. The truce, currently in its first phase, has seen Israeli captives released in small groups in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. The warring sides, which have yet to agree on the next phases of the truce, have traded accusations of violations, spurring concern that the violence could resume.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and "avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza." Israel has repeatedly vowed to defeat Hamas and free all the hostages since the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.
In Israel, dozens of relatives of hostages held in Gaza blocked a highway near commercial hub Tel Aviv, waving banners and demanding the terms of the ceasefire be respected, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer said.
Last week's hostage release sparked anger in Israel and beyond after Hamas paraded three emaciated hostages before a crowd and forced them to speak. Hamas, meanwhile, has accused Israel of failing to meet its aid commitments under the agreement.
Hamas has insisted it remains "committed to the ceasefire," and said its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya was in Cairo on Wednesday for meetings and to monitor "the implementation of the ceasefire agreement."
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has facilitated the hostage-prisoner swaps, urged the parties to maintain the truce.
"Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on it," including "all of the remaining hostages" and Gazans who "need respite from violence and access to life-saving humanitarian aid," the ICRC said.