According to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the release of 602 Palestinians will not take place until Israel is convinced that the terrorist-stamped Hamas will also carry out the next release - "without the humiliating ceremonies".
At a military ceremony on Sunday afternoon, Netanyahu also sharpened his tone and said that Israel is ready to resume attacks inside Gaza "at any time".
He emphasized that Israel intends to fulfill its "set goals, either through negotiations or otherwise".
In Gaza, we have eliminated most of Hamas' organized forces - and we will complete our goals, says Netanyahu.
The Palestinian extremist movement responded on Sunday that Israel is acting ruthlessly and "putting the entire agreement in serious danger", according to a spokesperson.
This weekend's planned exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is one of the last steps in the fragile ceasefire's first phase.
On the West Bank, relatives of imprisoned Palestinians had gathered after being informed that the releases would take place at 8 pm on Saturday evening.
We are waiting for them, to hug and meet them, but Netanyahu is always stalling, said Fatima Abu Abdullah in southern Gaza, waiting for her son.
Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas agreed on a ceasefire that began on January 19 and would last for six weeks in the first phase.
During the six weeks, Hamas will release a total of 33 people held as hostages in Gaza, most of them since the Palestinian extremists' attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel will release a total of around 1,900 people. It concerns some who have been sentenced to prison terms in Israel and some who have been detained during the war. Exactly how many will be released each time is unclear, but it will happen simultaneously with Hamas releasing hostages.
When phase one is over, another 60 or so Israelis will remain as Hamas hostages. The idea is that they will be released in a second phase of the ceasefire, which is intended to pave the way for an Israeli withdrawal and a more long-term and "sustainable" calm in the Gaza Strip. But the circumstances for this have not yet been negotiated.
