Hamas ‘shows readiness’ to accept ceasefire extension

Hamas has reportedly moved toward agreeing to an extension of phase one of the ceasefire with Israel, after mediators told the terror group: ‘This is your last chance.’

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to reporters. Picture: AFP.

Hamas has reportedly moved toward agreeing to an extension of phase one of the ceasefire with Israel, after mediators told the group: “This is your last chance.”

As negotiations over a truce start anew in Qatar, The Times of Israel reports the militant group is showing some “readiness” to agree to a long extension of the ceasefire without moving to the second phase of the deal.

Israel is pushing a two-month extension of the truce, during which Hamas would release about half of the living hostages upfront but the terror group has so far rejected the proposal.

Israel’s Channel 12 TV reports that Qatar, the US and Egypt are pressing Hamas to accept

offer.

The broadcaster reported the mediators told Hamas, “This is your last chance to prevent the renewal of war on Israel’s part. Everyone needs time, even you.”

Earlier, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff declared Hamas had “no alternative” but to disarm and leave Gaza as he landed in Qatar to join negotiations aimed at extending the fragile ceasefire between Israel and the terror group.

Mr Wiktoff will meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Wednesday (local time). Before leaving for the Qatari capital, he praised Dohar for its “outstanding” mediation efforts, and said “all things are on the table” if Hamas agreed to disarm.

“If they leave, then all things are on the table for a negotiated peace, and that’s what they’ll need to do,” Mr Witkoff told Fox News. However, he added: “We need deadlines” for an agreement on the next phase in a deal.

A senior Hamas official confirmed the new found of talks had begun, adding that the group was approaching the negotiations “positively and responsibly”.

“A new round of ceasefire negotiations began today,” Abdul Rahman Shadid said in a statement. “Our movement is dealing with these negotiations positively and responsibly.” Israel has also sent a team of negotiators for talks aimed at extending the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, but has so far not commented on the talks.

“We hope that the current round of negotiations leads to tangible progress toward beginning the second phase,” Mr Shadid said.

He also expressed hope that Mr Witkoff would help “initiate negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement”.

The first 42-day phase of the truce deal expired in early March without agreement on subsequent stages meant to secure a lasting end to the war, which erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

There are differing views on how to proceed, with Hamas seeking immediate negotiations for the next phase, while Israel wants to extend the first phase.

Hamas has accused Israel of reneging on the ceasefire deal, stating in a statement on Monday that Israel “refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling”.

Ahead of the current round of talks, Israel halted the supply of electricity to Gaza’s only desalination plant, a move Hamas condemned as “cheap and unacceptable blackmail.” Israel has already stopped aid deliveries to Gaza amid the deadlock over the ceasefire.

The initial phase of the truce brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States began on January 19, and helped reduce hostilities after more than 15 months of relentless fighting that displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

While the fate of the ceasefire remains uncertain, both sides have largely refrained from all-out hostilities.

However, in recent days, Israel has conducted daily strikes targeting militants in Gaza.

On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike killed four men in Gaza City, according to the territory’s civil defence agency.

The Israeli military said that its air forces had struck “several terrorists engaged in suspicious activity posing a threat to IDF (Israeli) troops”.

In recent days, US hostages envoy Adam Boehler held unprecedented direct talks with Hamas and said an agreement for releasing more captives was expected “in the coming weeks”.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio talked down the prospects of a breakthrough from those discussions.

“That was a one-off situation in which our special envoy for hostages, whose job it is to get people released, had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people and was given permission and encouraged to do so,” Mr Rubio told journalists in Jeddah.

“It hasn’t borne fruit. But it … doesn’t mean he was wrong to try”.