Israel is expected to send a delegation to Doha to negotiate the truce extension agreement on Monday after Hamas had interviews with Egyptian officials in Cairo.
Israel confirmed that he would send a delegation to the capital of Qatar for talks on the extension of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas.
On Saturday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a delegation would be sent to Doha on Monday in “an effort to advance negotiations”.
This occurs after a Hamas team met Egyptian officials in Cairo on Saturday to negotiate the second phase of the cease-fire agreement.
“The delegation underlined the need to join all the terms of the agreement immediately proceeding to launch negotiations for the second phase, by opening the border passages and allowing the entry of rescue equipment to Gaza without any restriction or conditions,” he said in a statement.
In previous comments, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanoua, said one day earlier than “the indicators are positive regarding the start of negotiations for the second phase”.
The first phase of the cease-fire agreement ended on March 1, after six weeks of exchanges, including 25 living Israeli captives held in Gaza for the release of 1,800 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
Israel said that he wanted to extend the first stage of the agreement until mid-April, refusing to go to the second stage of the agreement which implies a complete end to war and a complete withdrawal of his Gaza forces.
Hamas, however, says that it wants the two parties to move towards the second phase, as agreed.
Protests in Tel Aviv
Meanwhile, the Israeli captives have released and the families of those who are still in Gaza have called on the government to go to the second stage of the agreement and prevent a return to war.
During a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker, who held in Gaza, accused Netanyahu of having played a “political chess game” with the captives.
“War could resume in a week … Only an agreement that brings them immediately will ensure their return,” she said.
Report by Jordan, Hamdah Salhut of Tel Aviv Tribune said that the push of Israel to see an extension of phase one of the agreement led to a desperately necessary humanitarian aid blockade.
“There is still so much pressure on Netanyahu of the family members of the captives who accuse the Prime Minister of prolonging the war for his own personal and political gain,” she said.
In the midst of talks, Israel continued its deadly assault against Gaza, killing at least three Palestinians on Saturday.
The Palestinians of Gaza also struggle under the aid blockade, which aggravated a disastrous humanitarian crisis in the middle of the Sacred Muslim Ramadan.
Since Friday evening, Rafah has been the target of intense Israeli attacks of tanks and drones, with bombings affecting residential areas, notably Al-Jnaina, Ash-Shawka and Tal As-Sultan, reported the Palestinian press agency Wafa.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 48,453 Palestinians were killed and 111,860 injured by Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023.