Hamas calls on Israel to start talks for next phase of ceasefire deal
The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas ends March 1 without certainty over the planned second phase. Here’s what could happen.
Middle East
Don't miss out on the headlines from Middle East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas ends on Saturday, March 1 local time, without any certainty over the planned second phase, which is hoped to bring an end to the Gaza war.
The first 42-day phase of the ceasefire agreement, which began on January 19, stipulated a pause in fighting and the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Analysts say that phase is likely to be extended because it is the preferred scenario for Israel, which has the upper hand in the conflict’s aftermath.
“Phase two won’t start tomorrow, but I think the ceasefire probably won’t collapse also,” Max Rodendeck, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, told AFP.
Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has been mediating peace efforts in Gaza, and will host a new round of talks with hopes of determining the future of the ceasefire.
The preferred Israeli scenario is to free more hostages under an extension of the ceasefire’s first phase, rather than a second phase, Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Hamas, on the other hand, has reiterated its “readiness to engage in negotiations for its second phase”.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7 attack, 58 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that the Palestinian militant group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase.
“Hamas will not be happy to drag on phase one, but it doesn’t really have the capacity to force Israel to go on to phase two,” Rodendeck told AFP.
The fragile ceasefire mostly halted fighting in war-ravaged Gaza throughout the first phase, save for a number of Israeli strikes and live fire on sites and Palestinians deemed a “threat” by the military.
“Even during the ceasefire, Hamas plotted attacks targeting soldiers and Israeli communities,” Mr Katz said, but Hamas called the claim “baseless and misleading”.
Mr Katz, like Mr Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, has repeatedly threatened a return to fighting and to “exterminate” Hamas, should the Palestinian group break the ceasefire agreement.
US President Donald Trump’s administration “sort of have given full license to the Israelis to resume fighting if they want to”, Mr Rodendeck said.
Even before the deal’s announcement on January 15, one of the main issues remains the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land on the Palestinian side of the Egypt-Gaza border, which Israel took control of during the war.
“Maintaining absolute control over the Philadelphi Corridor is non-negotiable from a security standpoint,” Mr Katz said, particularly to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza.
Hamas called it a “clear violation of the ceasefire agreement”.
The entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which Israel says could provide Hamas with “dual use items” that can be repurposed to make weapons, has been another source of friction since the start of the first phase.
But the paramount question remains the role Hamas will play in post-war governance.
Though the group signalled it would be willing to leave administrative and civil matters to a group of Palestinian technocrats, it has not committed to giving up its security control of Gaza, which is unacceptable to Israelis.
“The end of the war cannot be agreed, because Hamas would never agree to be expelled from Gaza and Netanyahu would never ever whatsoever agree to end the war” under those circumstances, commentator Segal said.
FOLLOW UPDATES BELOW:
HAMAS URGES ‘SECOND PHASE’ TO BEGIN AFTER BODIES, PRISONERS SWAP
Hamas has called on Israel to enter negotiations for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire after the group handed over the bodies of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Hours after the handover, an Israeli pro-hostage group confirmed “with profound sorrow” the identities of the four bodies Hamas returned on Thursday.
Ohad Yahalomi, Tsachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat and Shlomo Mansour “have been laid to eternal rest in Israel”, said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said based on “all of the information at our disposal”, Yahalomi, Idan and Elgarat “were murdered while held hostage in Gaza”.
Mansour, it added, was “murdered in the 7 October 2023 massacre”.
The swap, undertaken under cover of night, was the last in an initial series agreed under the terms of the fragile truce, which took effect on January 19 and largely halted the war in Gaza.
Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas freed 25 living hostages and returned to Israel the bodies of eight others, some of them dual nationals.
Israel, in return, was expected to free around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, among them women and minors, in batches.
Israel’s Prison Service said it had released 643 Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange under the Gaza truce.
“The Israel Prison Service concludes the seventh imprisoned terrorist release in accordance with the agreement for the return of the hostages,” it said in a statement, adding that “643 terrorists were transferred from several prisons across the country” and later released
Another 46 prisoners, “all women and minors from Gaza” who were arrested after the war began, are due for release, according to Palestinian sources.
In Gaza and the West Bank, AFP journalists saw hundreds of prisoners being released early Thursday, and Egypt’s state linked Al-Qahera News said 97 of them who were marked for deportation by Israeli authorities had arrived on the Egyptian side of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing.
Negotiations for a second phase of the deal, which is meant to lead to a permanent end to the war, have yet to begin.
“We have cut off the path before the enemy’s false justifications, and it has no choice but to start negotiations for the second phase,” Hamas said on Telegram.
The Palestinian prisoners released Thursday were supposed to have been freed at the weekend, but Israel stopped the process following outrage over elaborate ceremonies Hamas had been holding to hand over hostages seized in its unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.
Several of the Palestinians released to Ramallah were hoisted in the air on arrival, some of them conducting interviews from the shoulders of friends or relatives.
A group of women broke into tears as they gathered around one released prisoner, and a child held aloft made victory signs with both hands.
TRUMP ENVOY SAYS NEGOTIATIONS WILL BEGIN
In Washington, US President Donald Trump’s top envoy to the Middle East said Israeli representatives were en route to talks on the next phase of the ceasefire.
“We’re making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak,” Steve Witkoff told an event for the American Jewish Committee.
“It’s either going to be in Doha or in Cairo, where negotiations will begin again with the Egyptians and the Qataris.” Israel has yet to comment on Witkoff’s remarks regarding talks for a second phase, which should also see the release of dozens of hostages still being held by militants.
In his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Trump expressed horror at the return of the bodies of four dead hostages, calling Hamas “vicious people” and reiterating his intentions to end the war.
Despite the ceasefire, there have been sporadic incidents of violence in Gaza. The Israeli military said it carried out air strikes on several launch sites after a projectile was fired from there on Wednesday, though the munition fell short inside the Palestinian territory.
MACRON SLAMS HAMAS ‘BARBARISM’
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Hamas to stop its “barbarism” after confirmation that French-Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi, 50, was among four bodies returned. Yahalomi’s 12-year-old son Eitan was released in November 2023.
Mr Macron said on X that he shared the “immense pain” of Yahalomi’s family, adding that “France lost 50 of its children in the October 7 abomination”.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,215 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,348 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures that the United Nations considers credible.
NETANYAHU SENDS NEGOTIATORS TO CAIRO AFTER BODY HANDOVER
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched negotiators to Cairo on Thursday after Hamas handed over the remains of four hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The overnight swap was the final stage of an initial deal under the fragile truce that took effect on January 19, largely halting the Gaza war.
Under the first phase, Hamas freed 25 living Israeli and dual-national hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack and returned the bodies of eight others. It also released five Thai prisoners outside the deal’s terms.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said he instructed Israeli negotiators to head to Cairo for the Gaza talks.
More Coverage
Originally published as Hamas calls on Israel to start talks for next phase of ceasefire deal
BBC admits reputation ‘damaged’ over Hamas doco
One of the world’s largest media organisations says its reputation is in tatters after airing a controversial documentary featuring the son of a Hamas minister.
Trump shares ‘bizarre’ AI vision for Gaza
Donald Trump has unveiled his computer-generated vision for war-torn Gaza and it showcases a beachside resort featuring golden statues of the US President.
Israel fighter jets taunt Hezbollah at funeral
Mourners at the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah shouted “death to Israel” as Israeli fighter jets did a fly-over. Watch the video.
Mother Shiri Bibas confirmed dead after Hamas ‘mix-up’ with body
Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas’s community confirmed her death after new remains were returned, as the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange under a fragile Gaza ceasefire was set to go ahead.
BBC apologises for airing Hamas ‘propaganda’
The BBC has issued a formal apology after it was lashed for airing a one-hour documentary that was narrated by the son of a minister in terrorist organisation Hamas.
Israel threatens ‘intense fighting’ if hostages aren’t released
Israel has declared the ceasefire with Hamas will end if the militant group failed to release three hostages over the weekend but the militant group said it was committed to the truce agreement.