Malaysia PM denounces Israel’s failure to abide by Gaza ceasefire deal

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim denounced on Tuesday Israel’s failure to abide by the prisoner swap and ceasefire agreement concluded with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and its ongoing aggressive policies against the Palestinians. Ibrahim made his comment in a joint press conference with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Kuala Lumpur.

“How can a ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian Gaza Strip be advanced without the coloniser’s withdrawal?” said the Malaysian official. “How is this possible while Israel’s aggressive and expansionist policies continue?”

In a related context, the Malaysian premier said Ankara has played a leading role in the Gaza issue, and that he does not know of a country that has provided as much humanitarian aid as Turkiye.

Ibrahim pledged to work to mobilise the ASEAN countries to rebuild the Gaza Strip, which has been destroyed by Israel during its 15-month genocidal war on the besieged enclave.

A spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, said on Monday that Israel did not abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement, and therefore the handover of Israeli hostages scheduled for next Saturday will be postponed until further notice.

In a separate statement issued on Monday, Hamas confirmed its commitment to the deal’s terms “as long the [Israeli] occupation remains committed to them.” The movement said that “it had implemented all of its obligations accurately and on the specified dates, while the [Israeli] occupation had violated the deal’s terms many times.”

Hamas pointed out that it had documented the Israeli violations and provided the mediators with the details as they happened.

READ: Israel’s actions drove Hamas to suspend captive release, say Israeli experts