Negotiations regarding the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have not made any progress, and it remains unclear if they will continue on Saturday, according to a senior Hamas official.
The initial six-week truce, which came into effect on January 19 after over 15 months of conflict sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, saw Gaza militants release 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The second phase aimed to secure the release of more hostages remaining in Gaza and work toward a more permanent end to the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sent a delegation to Cairo, Egypt, where Egypt, acting as a mediator alongside Qatar and the US, was involved in “intensive talks” on the second phase.
However, by early Saturday, no consensus had been reached, and a Hamas source accused Israel of delaying the second phase. A Palestinian source close to the talks indicated discussions were ongoing to resolve the stalemate.
Max Rodenbeck from the International Crisis Group think tank said the second phase was unlikely to commence immediately but believed the ceasefire was unlikely to collapse.
Israel prefers to extend the first phase to free more hostages rather than move to a second phase, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz. Out of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 whom the Israeli military claims are dead.
Hamas has been pressing for phase two to begin after suffering heavy losses in the conflict. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, emphasized the importance of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire continuing and called for efforts to avoid a breakdown of the agreement.
The truce has enabled more aid to enter Gaza, where the conflict has severely damaged infrastructure, displaced most of the population, and led to widespread hunger. The Saturday marked the start of Ramadan, a month observed by Muslims with dawn-to-dusk fasting.
Residents in Gaza’s war-affected areas prepared for Ramadan with traditional lanterns and nightly prayers. Ali Rajih, a resident of the heavily hit Jabaliya camp, expressed the hardship of living without shelter, work, or money during the holiday season.
The war began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,218 people, mostly civilians. The Israeli response has killed over 48,000 people in Gaza, the majority being civilians, according to Hamas-run health ministry figures considered reliable by the UN.
Despite the truce holding, there have been several Israeli strikes, including one on Friday when the military targeted two individuals approaching troops in southern Gaza. In return for the captives’ release from Gaza, Israel freed nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners from its jails, and Gaza militants released five Thai hostages outside the truce agreement.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/01/gaza-ceasefire-talks-no-progress-second-phase-hamas-israel
