Israel and Hamas diverge over ceasefire as first phase expires
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CAIRO: Israel will adopt the proposal by US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, the prime minister's office said early on Sunday (Mar 2), hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired.
On the first day of Witkoff's proposal, half of the hostages held in Gaza, both alive and dead, will be released, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, adding the remaining hostages will also be released after a permanent ceasefire was agreed.
In response to Netanyahu's office statement, Hamas senior official, Mahmoud Mardawi, said it is a clear affirmation that Israel was disavowing the deals it previously signed.
"This continued manipulation will not return the hostages to their families ... But on the contrary ... it will lead to their continued suffering and endangering their lives," Mardawi was quoted as saying in Palestinian media, including by the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency.
The ceasefire agreement halted 15 months of fighting beginning on Jan 19, allowing the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais captured on Hamas' Oct 7 attack for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel. It was meant to lead to subsequent talks to build on the ceasefire deal.
Talks on the second phase of the ceasefire have been ongoing, most recently in Cairo, but have not led to an agreement.
Egyptian sources said on Friday the Israeli delegation sought to extend the first phase by 42 days, while Hamas wanted to move to the second phase of the ceasefire deal. Spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Saturday the group rejected Israel's "formulation" of extending the first phase.
Netanyahu's office said on Sunday that Israel would immediately conduct negotiations on Witkoff's plan if Hamas agreed to it. Witkoff's proposed ceasefire would extend over the Islamic Ramadan fasting period that ends around Mar 31 and the Jewish Passover holiday that ends around Apr 20.
As the ceasefire is technically expired, the threat of renewed violence is a possibility.
"According to the agreement, Israel can return to fighting after the 42nd day if it feels that the negotiations are ineffective," Netanyahu's office said on Sunday, accusing Hamas of violating the deal. Both sides have been trading accusations of breaching the first-phase deal.
Two Palestinian officials familiar with the negotiation told Reuters on Saturday that Israel refused to enter the second phase of the agreement or start negotiations about it.
Instead, Israel requested an extension of the first phase, conditioned on the handover of a number of living prisoners and bodies for each week of extension.
Hamas, however, rejected an extension and insisted on adhering to the agreement, entering the second phase, and obliging Israel to what was agreed upon.
On Saturday, Hamas's armed wing posted a video showing Israeli hostages still in its custody in Gaza and stressed that the remaining hostages can only be freed through a swap deal as stated under the phased ceasefire agreement that began in January.
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