Hamas says it will only release American-Israeli hostage if ceasefire deal is implemented

Hamas said Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an “exceptional deal” aimed at getting the truce back on track. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed nine people in Gaza including local journalists, medics and a watchdog said.

A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire's second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel also would need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt. Israel has said it won't withdraw there, citing the need to combat weapons smuggling.

Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. He is the last living U.S. citizen held in Gaza. Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 believed to be dead.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, where government offices were closed for the Sabbath.

Speaking at a protest camp set up last week outside Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “violating the agreement he signed and abandoning the hostages in Gaza.”

“You want to sacrifice our children for the pleasures of power,” said Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan and freed hostage Iair.

Two Israeli airstrikes in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border killed at least nine people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Center, a local watchdog, said the dead included three Palestinian journalists who were documenting aid distribution. Local health official Fares Awad identified one as Mahmoud Islim, who was operating a drone.

The Israeli military said it struck two people operating a drone that it said posed a threat to soldiers in the area. It said it launched another strike at a group of people who came to collect the drone equipment. The army identified all of those targeted as suspected militants, without providing evidence.

Hamas in a statement called the attack a “serious escalation” showing Israel’s attempts to “sabotage any opportunity” to implement the ceasefire agreement.

Also Saturday, Israel's military said it removed a platoon of soldiers from Gaza who were seen in a video on social media opening fire during a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim. The video shows soldiers shooting, apparently randomly, while another performs the customary reading of the Book of Esther. The military said the soldiers “will face disciplinary measures.”

No major fighting has occurred in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold on Jan. 19, but Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had entered unauthorized areas, engaged in militant activities or otherwise violated the truce.

The United States said it presented on Wednesday a proposal to extend the ceasefire a few weeks as the sides negotiate a permanent truce. It said Hamas was claiming flexibility in public while privately making “entirely impractical” demands.

Talks continued in Egypt, which along with Qatar has served as mediators with Hamas in the indirect talks with Israel.

Israel and Hamas were to begin negotiations on the ceasefire's second phase in early February, but only preparatory talks have been held. In Phase Two, Hamas would release all remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting truce.

The first phase saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone along Gaza’s border and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.

After the first phase ended early this month, Israel said it had agreed to a new U.S. proposal in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages in return for a vague commitment to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. Hamas rejected that offer.

For two weeks, Israel has barred the delivery of food, fuel and other supplies to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians, and cut electricity to the territory a week ago, to pressure Hamas to accept the new proposal.

The southern city of Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border, said it could no longer provide fuel needed to pump water from dozens of wells.

Ahmed al-Sufi, head of the municipality, said fuel shortages caused by the Israeli siege have forced it to “suspend essential services, threatening the lives of thousands.”

The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced most of the population and left nearly everyone dependent on international aid.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. Most have been released in deals, while Israel rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.

Israel's military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel contributed to this report.

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