The ceasefire took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country’s history.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sent a delegation to Cairo, and mediator Egypt said “intensive talks” on the second phase had begun with the presence of delegations from Israel as well as fellow mediators Qatar and the United States.
But by Saturday, there was no sign of consensus, and Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the group rejected “the extension of the first phase in the formulation proposed by the occupation (Israel)”.
He called on mediators “to oblige the occupation to abide by the agreement in its various stages”.
Referring to a post-war Gaza, Hamas said it was “fully prepared to deal with any option that is agreed upon by the Palestinians” but said it “categorically” rejected “the attempt to impose any non-Palestinian projects or forms of administration or the presence of any foreign forces on any territory of the Gaza Strip”.
