While Hamas announced a delay in the next round of prisoner exchanges—prompting accusations that it violated the ceasefire—Israel has been in breach of the agreement since the first hours of its implementation on January 19. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear from the outset that he viewed the deal as merely a temporary pause.
Just one day before the ceasefire was set to take effect, Netanyahu publicly declared, “President [Donald] Trump and President [Joe] Biden have given full backing to Israel’s right to return to combat,” emphasizing that the truce would not be permanent.
The ceasefire was scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM local time on January 19. Yet, in the final 30 minutes before its implementation, Israeli officials threatened to scrap the deal, citing Hamas’s delay in submitting a list of three Israeli captives set to be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners later that day. The agreement contained no clause allowing Israel to postpone the truce on these grounds.
At the ceasefire deadline that morning, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced that military operations would continue until Hamas provided the required list of captives. In the interim, Palestinians briefly took to the streets, celebrating what they believed to be the official end of the war. The moment was short-lived. Within 15 minutes, Israeli drones returned to the skies, followed by airstrikes and gunfire from Israeli forces, killing at least 19 Palestinians.
Hamas submitted the list soon after, repeatedly insisting that the delay was due to a technical issue. However, the ceasefire did not officially take effect until 11:15 AM. Despite the delay, Hamas upheld its side of the agreement, releasing three Israeli female captives on time. Israel, in contrast, postponed the release of 92 Palestinian women and children from 3:00 PM to 3:00 AM the next morning. Israeli forces also fired on families waiting near Ramallah in the West Bank for the release of their relatives.
The BBC is reporting that Israeli forces have opened fire on Palestinians trying to return to their homes in the north of the Gaza strip pic.twitter.com/7J0O4Gd0zR
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) November 24, 2023
On January 20, the first day of the ceasefire, a harrowing video circulated widely on social media, capturing the execution of 15-year-old Zakariya Hameed Yahya Barbakh. The footage showed an Israeli sniper in Rafah shooting the Palestinian teenager. As bystander Nader Ajlan attempted to drag Barbakh’s body to safety, he too came under Israeli gunfire.
Despite the formal ceasefire, airstrikes, incursions, and shootings continued. On January 28, an Israeli airstrike targeted a horse-drawn cart in Gaza’s Nuseirat area, killing two Palestinian civilians, including 5-year-old Nadia Mohammed al-Amoudi. Meanwhile, Hamas and other Palestinian factions had not responded with a single bullet or rocket.
A document shared with MintPress News and other media outlets by a senior Hamas official details what the group claims are 270 recorded Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement between January 19 and February 11. According to Hamas, these violations resulted in the deaths of 26 Palestinians and injuries to 59 others. The report further alleges 105 airspace violations, 36 instances of gunfire, nine bombardments, 29 unauthorized ground incursions, and the detention of five drivers and fishermen.
The document states that “The occupation’s aircraft continued to fly on a near-daily basis during the designated prohibition periods (10-12 hours daily). A total of 105 violations were recorded involving the flighting of reconnaissance planes and drones, including (Hermes 450, Hermes 900, Super Heron, Zoveit, Quad Copter), with many of these carrying ammunition, particularly over areas designated for captive’s handover.”
Regarding the prisoner exchange, the document accuses Israel of delaying the handover of a list of 400 Palestinian prisoners. Specifically, it states that the release of detainees in the third batch was postponed from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Additionally, Hamas claims that Palestinian prisoners were subjected to beatings and humiliation upon their release from Israeli detention centers.
The document also highlights Israel’s continued obstruction of humanitarian aid, fuel, and essential supplies from entering Gaza, a violation that has been independently documented by multiple sources. Israeli authorities are on record denying entry of critical aid to the civilian population.
Ramy Abdu, chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, underscored the severity of the situation, stating, “Only 9,500 tents—small and poor in quality—have arrived in Gaza, while 120,000 are urgently needed. Hundreds of thousands remain without shelter, yet Israel has failed to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire.”
From the outset, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled his intent to undermine the ceasefire before it could transition into its second phase. Some Israeli officials even proposed prolonging the first phase of the agreement to prevent the war from ending and to maintain the ongoing prisoner exchange. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive stance, warning that if Hamas fails to release all Israeli captives by noon on Saturday, he will “open the gates of hell.”
Feature photo | Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2025. Majdi Fathi | AP
Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47
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