Hamas reports, any progress in talks with Israel in the second stage of the ceasefire

CAIRO (AP) – A senior Hamas official said that the last round of the talks in the second stage of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has made “any progress”, and it is not clear whether it would resume on Saturday.

The first stage ends on Saturday, but according to the conditions of the deal, the fighting should not resume during the negotiations ongoing in the second stage, which may end the war in Gaza, see the Israeli forces withdraw and see the remaining hostages who have returned home. According to Israel, 32 of 59 hostages are still in Gaza, they died.

The first stage, which stopped temporarily for 15 months of fighting in Gaza, witnessed the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of people returned to the house to northern Gaza, increased assistance in the region, and Israeli forces withdrew to buffer areas.

Officials from Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the United States participated in negotiations in the second stage in Cairo. Hamas did not attend, but his position was represented through Egyptian brokers and Qataris.

Bassem Nayem, a member of Hamas’s political office, told Associated Press, there was no “progress” before the return of Israeli negotiators to the homeland on Friday.

It was not clear whether these mediators would return to Cairo to resume the talks on Saturday as expected. Nayem said he “has no idea” when negotiations resume.

The enthusiasm of the war began with October 7, 2023, the attack, which left 1,200 dead in Israel, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Since then, the military attack of Israel has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, who do not differentiate between civilian deaths and fighters, but they say more than half of the dead were women and children.

The two sides agreed on the three -stage ceasefire deal in January. The Israelis gathered on Saturday night to urge their government to continue the deal.

Hamas again affirmed “its full commitment to implementing all the conditions of the agreement in all its stages and details” and called on the international community to pressure Israel to move forward immediately to the second stage.

Other challenges hold the future of the ceasefire. Israel said Hamas could not participate in the Gaza administration after the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ruled out any role in Gaza for the Western Authority, which is controlled by the main Hamas competitor, Fateh.

Hamas leader Mohamed Darwish repeated on Saturday that the group is ready to hand over power to a Palestinian national consensus government or a group of Egyptian technocrats who are not in line with Hamas or Fatah. His comments came in an open message to the summit of Arab leaders next week in Cairo. Hamas rejected Israel’s proposal that its leadership was involved in exile.

Hamas also rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the first stage of the 42 -day ceasefire, doubling its length, saying that it contradicts the armistice agreement, according to a member of the group that requested not to disclose its identity to discuss closed negotiations.

Hamas member said that the Israeli proposal calls for an extension of the ceasefire during the Muslim month of Ramadan, which started on Saturday, in exchange for an additional exchange.

Ramadan in Gaza

In the southern city of Rafiha in Gaza, AP Video showed a long table that was placed in the breaking of Ramadan today fasting, climbing through the rubble and lit up with strings of lights while the sky was dark.

The mortgaged Palestinians were distinguished by the war on the first day of the Holy Month with fasting and fears.

“Today there is a lot of good, but there is no money,” Huda Matar said about the high prices, although more foodstuffs and other foodstuffs available compared to last year.

“May God have mercy on us and restore reconstruction quickly.”

The Netanyahu office said last week that the brokers “are also discussing ways to enhance the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of the efforts made to alleviate the suffering of the population and support stability in the region.”

The United Nations Food Agency on social media said it had reached one million Palestinians throughout Gaza during the first stage of the deal.

The World Food Program said: “The ceasefire must carry,” the World Food Program said. “It cannot return.”

A new video of the hostages

Hamas released video footage on Saturday, a group of hostages, including two hugs before one of them was released from Gaza.

The video, which was filmed under coercion, is likely to be captured before February 15, when the IAIR HORN was released and his brother, Eitan, left behind. The faces of what appears to be other hostages are unclear.

“I am very happy because my brother will be released tomorrow, but this is not logical in any way to separate families,” says Eitan. “The second and third stage was signed. Sufficient war. “

___ The amount reported from Bangkok. The Associated Press Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.