Egypt: Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on next phase of ceasefire begin

Egypt says negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have begun.

Egypt's State Information Service said on Thursday that Israeli, Qatari and American delegations are in Cairo for intensive talks on the Gaza ceasefire deal.

"The relevant parties have begun intensive talks to discuss the next phases of the truce agreement, amid ongoing efforts to ensure the implementation of the previously agreed understandings," it said in a statement.

Negotiators are also discussing ways to "enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid" to the war-torn Palestinian territory, it added.

On Thursday, Israel foreign minister Gideon Saar said a delegation would travel to Egypt to see whether there was common ground to negotiate an extension to the first phase of the truce due to expire in two days.

The regime’s officials said they seek to extend the initial phase, with Hamas freeing three captives each week in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.

Israel’s cabinet faces public pressure to stick to the ceasefire to free remaining captives.

The first phase of the ceasefire expires on Saturday.

A total of 58 captives are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Hamas has said it stands ready to release all remaining hostages in one go if the second stage is agreed.

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The Palestinian abductees had been initially slated for release on Saturday in exchange for six living captives freed by Hamas.

However, Israel had delayed the process over alleged mistreatment of captives during their handover.

Hamas accused Israel of “sabotaging” the Gaza ceasefire by the delay.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Information Office said that the seventh and eighth batches of abductees releases were merged, bringing the total number to 642.

"We are witnessing one of the achievements of the Palestinian people with the release of the seventh and eighth batches of prisoners, which is the largest so far within the ceasefire agreement arrangements," Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said on Thursday.

Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing at least 48,348 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.

Israel accepted Hamas’ longstanding negotiation terms under the Gaza truce, which began on January 19.

The ceasefire consists of three phases, each lasting 42 days. In phase one, a total of 33 Israeli captives, including eight bodies, were released in exchange for some 1,900 Palestinian abductees held in the regime's jails.

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