Freed hostages subjected to 'humiliating ceremony' Israel has delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the release of Palestinian prisoners under a Gaza truce will be delayed until Hamas ends what he called "humiliating rituals" when handing over Israeli hostages.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement: "In view of Hamas' repeated violations of the agreement, including the shameful ritual of humiliating the hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda, we have decided to postpone the release of the terrorists scheduled for yesterday until it is assured that the next group of hostages will not face a humiliating ceremony when they are released."

Since the Gaza ceasefire went into effect on January 19, Hamas has released 25 Israeli hostages. Before being released, masked Hamas militants took the hostages on stage, forced them to wave to Gazans gathered to watch the event and were even asked to speak through microphones.

In an elaborate ceremony, the hostages are given Hebrew certificates to mark their release before being handed over to Red Cross officials, who then hand them over to the Israeli army.

Hamas militants even displayed the bodies of three hostages in coffins at a ceremony Thursday, a move that drew widespread criticism from the United Nations.

"The display of human remains in this way is abhorrent and cruel, and a flagrant violation of international law," said UN human rights chief Turk.

Hamas has rejected repeated calls by the Red Cross to release the hostages privately.

Hamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the first phase of a truce. In response, Israel will release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.

But shortly after the hostages' release, Netanyahu announced early Sunday that he had decided to suspend the release of Palestinian prisoners until the handover ceremony was halted.