Posted on 02/12/25
| News Source: Times of Israel
Hamas has reportedly instructed senior figures in the terror group to stop using cell phones amid concerns that the fragile ceasefire with Israel could fall apart, bringing with it a return of Israel’s military offensive.
Sources in Hamas told the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat outlet on Tuesday that the group’s military wing and senior leadership have instructed all senior political and military figures to stop using their phones, as many had returned to using the devices after the ceasefire began last month.
According to the sources, several senior officials have already stopped using their phones over fears of attempts by the IDF to track them via the devices and assassinate them.
The three-stage ceasefire agreement, reached last month, halted some 15 months of fighting triggered by the group’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, when Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
The deal requires Hamas to release hostages, Israel to release thousands of Palestinian security prisoners — including hundreds serving life sentences — and halt the fighting in the Strip, followed by negotiations for a “sustainable calm” and an IDF withdrawal from the enclave.
Hamas declared that it is still dedicated to the ceasefire, though a day earlier it had vowed not to release the next group of hostages until further notice, alleging Israeli violations of the ceasefire, in an announcement that shook the truce, sparked war preparations by Israel and prompted US President Donald Trump to declare that if the captives aren’t released by noon Saturday the ceasefire should be ended.
“Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement that the (Israeli) occupation also committed to,” it said in a statement on Tuesday evening, adding that “we affirm that the occupation is the party that did not abide by its commitments and is responsible for any complications or delays.”