Talks under way in Egypt for second phase of Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza

The second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza, which ends on Saturday, has already begun in Egypt.

According to Egypt’s state information service, Israeli officials and Qatari and American mediators met in Cairo on Thursday for “intensive discussions.”

Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy for US President Donald Trump, might participate in the discussions.

Talks over the second phase of the ceasefire are intended to put an end to the conflict, including the release of all Palestinian captives who are still alive and the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area.

There are still 59 captives in Gaza, according to Israel, 24 of whom are reportedly still alive.

Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister, stated that the country’s prospects for a deal are uncertain, adding that the Israeli team in Cairo should “see whether we have common ground to negotiate.”

At a news conference on Thursday, Sa’ar stated that “we said we are ready to extend the framework] of phase one.” “We’ll do that if it’s possible.”

Given Israel’s prime minister’s declared war goals, which have been supported by US President Donald Trump, it remains to be seen whether a deal can be reached.

According to Mohamad Elmasry, a political analyst at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, “Israel has been telling us repeatedly that it doesn’t actually intend to end the war,” he told Al Jazeera.

Israel is fully prepared to go back to war, according to the statement, “Barring Hamas leaving Gaza, which is not going to happen.”

Hamas claims that Israel is “planing to escalate once more”

In the final planned swap of the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas handed over the remains of four captives on Thursday night for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.

Due to delays in obtaining the bodies of four of the captives, Israel had delayed the release of 46 of these prisoners, all of whom were women and children.

Israeli officials said they would not leave the long-distance bordering Egypt, or the Philadelphi Corridor, further violating the terms of the agreement. On Saturday, Israel’s military is supposed to begin pulling out of the corridor and finish doing so in eight days.

Despite Hamas being “committed to the deal,” Hamas official Basem Naim told Al Jazeera that he believes Israel is “planning to escalate to the escalate once more.”

Naim said the organization should be actively involved in phase two negotiations, noting that “we have already performed our duties in accordance with the agreement” and that we are ready to carry out its terms.

After Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left about 1,100 people dead and more than 200 people in captivity, the ceasefire, which ended on January 19 put an end to 15 months of conflict.