Hamas on Sunday condemned Israel's decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, 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.

Hamas released six hostages from Gaza on Saturday. Israel was due to release 620 Palestinian detainees in return, but has delayed the exchange citing further security reviews.

The six Israelis were the last living captives set to be released in the first phase of the cease-fire. The agreement, strained for weeks, has an uncertain future.