Israel will postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners until additional Israeli hostage releases are secured, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced on Saturday night.
The PMO cited Hamas's repeated violations of the ceasefire-hostage deal as the reason for the postponement.
Hamas on Sunday condemned Israel's decision, saying its claim that the hostages' handover ceremonies are "humiliating" was false and a pretext to evade Israel's obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The release of Palestinian prisoners is expected to take place when the next round of hostages are released.
The PMO announcement came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting in Jerusalem with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Shas Chair Arye Deri, and Defense Ministry senior officials.
Decision comes due to Hamas's 'repeated violations'
"Due to Hamas’ repeated violations—including ceremonies that disgrace our hostages' dignity and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda purposes—it has been decided to delay the release of the terrorists planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the degrading ceremonies," the PMO said.
Israel wants Hamas to release the bodies of the next four hostages earlier than Thursday when they are set to be released and the extension of the first phase of the hostage deal to include further releases of hostages.
Israel says that since Hamas violated the agreement when it didn't return Shiri Bibas's body, the four bodies of slain hostages should have been returned earlier.
Reuters contributed to this report.