**Using Hostages for Propaganda, Sparks Controversy**
**Uncertain Truce Continuation… Walking on Thin Ice Ahead of Tougher Phase 2 Negotiations**
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Koh Il-hwan—Israel has abruptly postponed the release of Palestinian prisoners, which was agreed upon during the truce with Hamas.
On the 23rd (local time), according to AP news, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement that the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners, scheduled for the previous day, has been delayed.
The Prime Minister’s Office cited actions by Hamas as the reason for the delay.
It is claimed that Hamas is mocking the dignity of Israeli hostages and using them in propaganda events.
The office stated, “The release of Palestinian hostages will be postponed until the return is conducted without humiliating rituals on the hostages, and the release of other hostages is guaranteed.”
The previous day, Hamas released six Israeli hostages. During this process, armed Hamas members, masked and armed, brought the Israeli hostages in front of a crowd.
One hostage was seen kissing the heads of the Hamas members and waving to the crowd with a smile. These actions appear to have been forced by Hamas.
Such acts by Hamas have provoked Israeli public opinion.
Previously, on the 8th, during the release of three Israeli hostages, Hamas reportedly made them ride around Gaza in a vehicle and then stand on an outdoor stage.
The hostages were then forced to hold “release certificates” and make gratitude speeches.
Additionally, there was a recent incident where an unidentified body was sent to Israel disguised as a hostage’s corpse, which DNA tests revealed to be the body of a Palestinian woman.
Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, “Hamas has cruelly and maliciously violated the truce agreement” and announced retaliatory measures, although Hamas initially claimed it was a mistake before later returning the actual body.
According to the ceasefire agreement reached last month, Hamas and Israel are to halt hostilities for six weeks and exchange hostages and prisoners as the first phase, while starting discussions on the release of Israeli soldiers and permanent truce in the second and third phases.
However, the conflicts that have intensified during the hostage release process mean that the continuation of the truce is uncertain.
Hamas plans to deliver four more bodies next week.
It is known that over 60 Israeli hostages are currently held, and Hamas demands a permanent truce and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces as the conditions for their release.
In response, Prime Minister Netanyahu has expressed his determination to completely dismantle Hamas’s military and political foundations and retrieve all hostages.