GAZA/JERUSALEM - Israel announced early Sunday that it had postponed the release of Palestinian detainees, who were set to be freed Saturday under the ceasefire agreement until more hostages are released.

Israel was expected to release about 620 Palestinian detainees on Saturday after Hamas freed six hostages earlier in the day. The six were the final batch of living hostages scheduled to be released in the first phase of the three-phase deal.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that it had been decided to delay the release of Palestinian detainees scheduled for Saturday "until the release of the next hostages is secured, without the disgraceful ceremonies."

The decision followed what the statement described as "Hamas' repeated violations, including the disgraceful (hostage release) ceremonies that dishonor our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda purposes."

ALSO READ: Hamas hands over Shiri Bibas’ body as Netanyahu visits West Bank

Both Hamas and Israel have been accused of using captives for propaganda, with Hamas parading hostages on stage and Israel attaching derogatory inscriptions to bracelets and T-shirts worn by Palestinian prisoners and photographing them in demeaning poses.

Hamas accused Israel on Saturday of violating the terms of a Gaza ceasefire agreement by delaying the release of a seventh group of Palestinian prisoners, calling the move a "flagrant violation" of the truce.

In a statement, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanou claimed that Netanyahu's government "continues to procrastinate and delay" agreed-upon prisoner releases.

He said Hamas had cooperated with mediators to advance the exchange process, including releasing six Israeli hostages in three separate batches earlier on Saturday.

"We call on the mediators and guarantors of the agreement to exert pressure on the occupation (Israel) to respect the ceasefire agreement and implement its provisions without procrastination or delay," the spokesman added.

Earlier on Saturday, as agreed in the latest swap, six Israeli hostages previously held by Hamas were transferred from Gaza to Israeli authorities in three batches and crossed the border into Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed.

ALSO READ: Hamas hands over bodies of youngest Gaza hostages taken from Israel

In the first batch, two hostages were transferred from a vehicle of al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, to vehicles of the ICRC in Rafah, southern Gaza, which later carried them to the IDF and the Israel Security Agency, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.

The two are Avera Mengistu, 38, an Ethiopian-born Israeli man from Ashkelon, who crossed into Gaza in 2014 and had been held captive ever since, and Tal Shoham, 40, who was seized during the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

In the second batch, three Israeli hostages were handed over by Hamas to the Israeli authorities via the ICRC in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Palestinian sources.

The three -- Omer Shem-Tov, 22, Eliya Cohen, 27, and Omer Wenkert, 23 -- were also seized during the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Another Israeli hostage, 37-year-old Hisham al-Sayed, was released in central Gaza without an official ceremony later on Saturday, said a source within the al-Qassam Brigades.

The Israeli military said al-Sayed had been held by Hamas for almost 10 years.

READ MORE: Gaza faces grim, uncertain future

The latest hostage-prisoner swap is the final one where Hamas handed over living hostages under the first phase of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase, effective since Jan 19, is set to conclude next week when Hamas is expected to finish the release of 33 Israeli hostages -- 25 living ones and eight dead -- in exchange for over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners.