Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced on Monday evening that he had instructed the Israeli army to prepare at the highest level for any possible scenario in Gaza, following the Qassam Brigades’ announcement of halting the prisoner exchange process.

"This is a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement. I have instructed the IDF to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza and to protect the communities," Katz said, adding, "We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7."

For his part, the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for launching a large-scale air and ground attack and halting all aid to the Gaza Strip, following the announcement of the halt of the prisoner exchange process.

"The only response to Hamas' statement must be a massive air and ground attack and a halt to all forms of aid to Gaza," Ben-Gvir said.

On Monday evening, the spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, announced the postponement of the handover of the Israeli prisoners who were scheduled to be released next Saturday, due to repeated Israeli violations.

He pointed out that "this postponement will continue until the occupation commits to compensating for the past weeks retroactively, and we affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them."

Israel has so far refrained from negotiating the second phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, which was supposed to begin last Monday.

According to the agreement, the Israeli army must begin withdrawing its forces from the Philadelphi corridor on the 42nd day of the agreement’s entry into force, which falls on the beginning of next March, and this must continue for eight days, and the second phase of the agreement must be moved to, which means stopping the war on Gaza.