CEASEFIRE “MUST HOLD”
Max Rodenbeck, of the International Crisis Group think tank, said the second phase cannot be expected to start immediately.
“But I think the ceasefire probably won’t collapse also,” he said.
The preferred Israeli scenario is to free more hostages under an extension of the first phase, rather than a second phase, Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’ attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hamas, for its part, has pushed hard for phase two to begin, after it suffered staggering losses in the devastating war.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire “must hold”.
“The coming days are critical. The parties must spare no effort to avoid a breakdown of this deal,” Guterres said in New York.
The truce enabled greater aid flows into the Gaza Strip, where more than 69 per cent of buildings were damaged or destroyed, almost the entire population was displaced, and widespread hunger occurred because of the war, according to the United Nations.
“NOTHING BUT GOD’S MERCY”
In Gaza and throughout much of the Muslim world, Saturday also marked the first day of the month of Ramadan, during which the faithful observe a dawn-to-dusk fast.
Among the rubble of Gaza’s war-wrecked neighbourhoods, traditional Ramadan lanterns hung and people performed nightly prayers on the eve of the holy month.
“Ramadan has come this year, and we are on the streets with no shelter, no work, no money, nothing,” said Ali Rajih, a resident of the hard-hit Jabalia camp in north Gaza.
“My eight children and I are homeless, we’re living on the streets of Jabalia camp, with nothing but God’s mercy.”
