Hamas stops hostage release, accuses Israel of Gaza ceasefire violations

Hamas on Monday announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what the Palestinian militant group called Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, raising the risk of reigniting the conflict.

The unexpected announcement came as the ceasefire was already fragile even as families of the Israeli hostages urged the government to stick to the deal and Gazans sought to start rebuilding their lives in the shattered enclave after more than 15 months of war.

Hamas was to release more Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and other Palestinians held in Israeli detention as had happened over the past three weeks.