Gaza ceasefire: Hamas ready to complete 'remaining stages' of truce, Israel yet to strike a deal
World: There has been “no progress” on finding a solution before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau said.
The Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has come to a halt as the first phase concluded on Saturday (March 1) with no progress on the second phase.
Hamas on Saturday said that they are ready to go ahead with the "remaining stages" of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
"We affirm our keenness to complete the remaining stages of the ceasefire agreement, leading to a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction and lifting the siege," Hamas said in a letter to the Arab League summit which is scheduled to be held on March 4.
The Palestinian militant group further said that they categorically reject the "attempt to impose any non-Palestinian projects or forms of administration or the presence of any foreign forces on the territory of the Gaza Strip."
Until Friday, officials from Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the US were involved in negotiations on phase two of the deal. Hamas, however, did not attend the talks, but its position was represented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
There has been “no progress” on finding a solution before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told The Associated Press.
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Moreover, it is unclear whether these mediators will be returning to Egypt to resume talks on Saturday.
Naim said that he has "no idea" when negotiations might start again.
Reportedly, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff might travel to the region on Sunday for talks, Al Jazeera reported. However, it is not confirmed yet.
When did ceasefire begin?
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on January 19 after they were caught in a war for more than 15 months after the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
In the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 living hostages and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel. While Israel in exchange, released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in its prisons.
Also read: Days before ceasefire ends, Israel says it won’t withdraw from Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza
The second phase of the truce was supposed to secure the release of a dozen hostages who are still held in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sent a delegation, key mediators in the Gaza talks, to Cairo and Egpyt. He said "intensive talks" on the second phase had begun.
However, there are no signs of consensus so far, with Hamas accusing Israel of delaying the second phase.
“The second phase of the ceasefire agreement is supposed to begin tomorrow morning, Sunday … but the occupation is still procrastinating and continuing to violate the agreement,” a source told Agence-France Presse.
(With inputs from agencies)
