Hamas has said it is delaying the release of Israeli hostages indefinitely over "violations" of the ceasefire deal, prompting Israel`s defence minister to put the country`s military on alert with orders to prepare for "any scenario in Gaza", writes The Guardian.

“Mediators fear a breakdown of the three-week-old ceasefire, Egyptian security sources told Reuters, and have postponed talks until they receive a clear indication of Washington’s intent to continue with the phased deal.

Israel’s security cabinet has moved forward a meeting to discuss negotiations on the second phase, which had been set for Tuesday evening. The army has cancelled all leave for soldiers in the Gaza division, the Kan news outlet reported, in another sign that Israeli authorities are preparing for the resumption of war.

Late on Monday, Hamas said the “door remains open” for the next hostage-prisoner exchange, due to take place on Saturday.

In a statement, the militant group said it had “intentionally made this announcement five days before the scheduled prisoner handover, allowing mediators ample time to pressure [Israel] towards fulfilling its obligations”. It added: “The door remains open for the prisoner exchange batch to proceed as planned, once the occupation complies”.

Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage in Gaza said they have contacted the negotiators – who are from Qatar, Egypt and the US – asking for urgent help to “restore and implement” an agreement that took more than a year to seal.

Although a Hamas spokesperson cited past Israeli violations for halting the exchanges, the decision comes against a backdrop of US and Israeli leaders taking increasingly hardline positions about the long-term future of the strip”.