Talks have started on the second phase of the Gaza Strip ceasefire deal, a spokesman for the Palestinian militant group Hamas says.
The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on January 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.
Phase two of the three-phase deal is intended to focus on agreements on the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
“Contacts and negotiation on the second phase have begun,” Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said, without providing further details.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said earlier on Tuesday that Israel was preparing to send a high-level delegation to the Qatari capital Doha to discuss continued implementation of the deal.
Netanyahu was due to hold talks with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, with the focus likely to be on the ceasefire as well as a possible normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preparing for his meeting, later today, with US President Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/ctII2IC2Yb— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 4, 2025
The initial six-week truce, agreed with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the US, has remained largely intact but prospects for a durable settlement are unclear.
The war began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 in which 1200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since then has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities say.
Hamas and Netanyahu’s government, which includes hardliners who opposed the ceasefire deal, say they are committed to reaching an agreement in the second phase although each has criticised the other over its implementation.
Israeli leaders say Hamas cannot remain in the Gaza Strip but the movement has taken every opportunity it could to show the control it still exerts despite the loss of much of its former leadership and thousands of fighters during the war.
Qanoua said Israel had stalled in implementing the humanitarian protocol of the ongoing first phase, hindering the repair of hospitals, roads, water wells and infrastructure destroyed by Israel’s 15-month offensive.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff also said the new phase had begun.
“We’re in phase 2 now,” Witkoff told reporters, adding he had met Netanyahu on Monday to discuss parameters for the policy negotiations and would meet the prime minister of Qatar, a mediator in the negotiations, in the US on Thursday.
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