By James Mackenzie and Maayan Lubell
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel delayed the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners it had agreed to free on Saturday, after Hamas handed over six Israeli hostages, over what the prime minister’s office said were repeated violations by the Palestinian militant group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said early on Sunday, hours after the Palestinians were to have been freed under an already fragile ceasefire deal, that the scheduled release would be delayed until the next release of Israeli hostages is secured “without humiliating ceremonies”.
The six hostages freed from Gaza on Saturday were the last living Israeli captives slated for release under the first phase of a fragile ceasefire agreement that began last month.
(Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Hatem Maher and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Jana Choukeir in Dubai and Rami Amichay in Tel Aviv; Writing by James Mackenzie and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Diane Craft, William Mallard, Sharon Singleton, Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman)
