Five exchanges between the two sides have freed 21 hostages and 730 prisoners so far.
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A spokesperson for militant group Hamas on Monday accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement between the two sides and has said the next hostage release, planned for Saturday, will be delayed.
Five exchanges have been carried out since the first stage of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages held by Hamas and over 730 Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.
The next exchange, planned for Saturday, was set to see three additional Israeli hostages freed in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Abu Obeida, spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of systematically violating the ceasefire agreement over the past three weeks.
“The resistance leadership has closely monitored the enemy’s violations and its failure to uphold the terms of the agreement,” Abu Obeida said.
“This includes delays in allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, targeting them with airstrikes and gunfire across various areas of the Strip, and failing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid as agreed.”
A subsequent announcement by the group called the planned postponement a "warning signal", and said "the door remains open for the exchange to proceed as planned if Israel abides by its obligations."
Delay a 'complete violation' of the ceasefire agreement, says Israel
Responding to the initial Hamas announcement, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the postponement was "a complete violation" of the ceasefire agreement, and instructed the Israeli military to be on the highest level of alert.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed forward a scheduled meeting of his Security Cabinet from Tuesday afternoon to the morning.
The group representing many of the families of hostages called on mediating countries to prevent the deal from falling through. “Recent evidence from those released, as well as the shocking conditions of the hostages released last Saturday, leaves no room for doubt - time is of the essence, and all hostages must be urgently rescued from this horrific situation,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.