Hamas rejects Israel’s ‘formulation’ to extend first Gaza ceasefire phase
The Palestinian group’s statement comes on the day the first stage of the deal expires.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Al-Araby TV there are no current talks for the second ceasefire phase in Gaza.
Officials from Israel joined mediators from Qatar and the United States in Cairo on Thursday for “intensive discussions”. However, those negotiations apparently bore no fruit.
Talks over the second phase of the ceasefire are meant to negotiate a comprehensive end to the fighting in Gaza, including the return of all remaining living captives and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
Gaza truce: ‘Not clear where we’re going from here’
Sami al-Arian, a professor at Istanbul Zaim University, says Israel has tried to achieve “total victory” in the war on Gaza but “they failed to achieve that.”
“But towards the end of the year, through the Trump administration’s election and the pressure applied on them, they reached this truce agreement,” he said.
“The second phase was supposed to hash out all the differences on the remaining hostages – about 59 of them – and talk about the future of Gaza,” al-Arian said.
“None of that has started, but throughout this period, there was no resumption of the war. It’s not clear where we’re going from here. The American envoy Steve Witkoff has indicated he wants to explore the idea of extending phase one, which is the Israeli position.
“So that’s bad news for any negotiations because Hamas won’t agree to this.”
Fear and uncertainty in Gaza as truce phase one expires
People feel they’re running out of time now with no clear plan of what’s going to happen.
The Israeli insistence on extending the phase one of the ceasefire, rather than moving forward to the agreed-upon second stage indicates Israel is interested in continuing the war.
The more we talk to people, the more we realize how worried they are about the coming days and the future of the ceasefire agreement and its ability to hold for the coming phases. It’s an indication that Gaza is in a state of war right now.
There have been more than 100 people killed over the last 48 days, most while trying to return to their destroyed homes. There’s also the Israeli refusal to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor.
These are major elements of the ceasefire. People are still haunted by the nightmarish scenes of devastation and bloodshed that went on for 15 months. They haven’t woken up from it yet.
Children play on a destroyed building in Jabalia, northern Gaza
Essay Pro