The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, confirmed Saturday that mediation efforts led by Egypt and Qatar are continuing to finalize the implementation of a ceasefire agreement with Israel and initiate negotiations for the second phase.
"Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are continuing their efforts to ensure the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement and to launch the second-phase negotiations, with positive indicators emerging," Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou, said in a statement.
"We affirm our readiness to engage in the second-phase negotiations in a way that meets our people's demands, and we call for intensified efforts to provide relief to Gaza and lift the siege on our suffering people," said al-Qanou.
He noted that "the Hamas leadership delegation, currently in Cairo since yesterday (Friday), is discussing mechanisms for launching the second-phase negotiations, ensuring Israel's commitment to them, and implementing the outcomes of the Arab Summit."
On Tuesday, an emergency Arab Summit on Palestine in Cairo reaffirmed, in its final statement, the utmost priority of fully implementing the ceasefire agreement. The summit emphasized that it should lead to a permanent cessation of aggression against Gaza and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
The summit also adopted a five-year plan for Gaza's reconstruction, ensuring no displacement of Palestinians, with a budget of $53 billion. Israel and the US, however, rejected the plan, insisting on the framework proposed by US President Donald Trump.
A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, halting Israel's brutal war, which has killed more than 48,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
ISRAEL TO SEND DELEGATION TO DOHA FOR CEASEFIRE TALKS
Israel said Saturday it would send a delegation to Qatar for negotiations on a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal in the Gaza Strip, where the second phase of negotiations has not yet begun.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that a delegation would be sent to Doha on Monday to advance negotiations of the three-phase agreement that has completed the first phase.
It noted that Israel decided to send the delegation in response to an invitation from mediators, primarily the US.
-US PRESENTS PLAN TO EXTEND CEASEFRE BY 2 MONTHS
Israeli state television, Kan, citing an Israeli source, reported that the US initiated an effort to release 10 live prisoners held by Hamas in exchange for a 2-month extension of the ceasefire in Gaza.
The report indicated that negotiations between the US and Hamas, with the support of Qatari and Egyptian mediators, were being conducted without Israel's involvement.
-CEASEFIRE, PRISONER SWAP AGREEMENT BETWEEN HAMAS, ISRAEL
The ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement between Hamas and Israel took effect Jan. 19.
As part of the deal, the Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip was opened to allow Palestinians to go from south to north on Jan. 27, and the Israeli army withdrew from the corridor Feb. 9.
The Rafah Border Gate between Gaza and Egypt was opened to evacuate the sick and injured on Feb. 1, after an eight-month occupation by the Israeli army.
In the first phase of the agreement, more than 1,700 Palestinian inmates were released from Israeli prisons, while 33 Israeli prisoners (25 alive, eight dead) were handed over to Israel from Gaza.
Additionally, five Thai prisoners in Gaza were also released.
-SECOND-PHASE NEGOTATIONS HAVE NOT STARTED
The agreement, expected to consist of three phases, was supposed to begin the second phase of negotiations on the 16th day (Feb. 3) of the 42-day first phase.
The Tel Aviv administration prevented the start of the second-phase negotiations, and after the first phase ended March 1, US President Donald Trump's Middle East Special Representative Steve Witkoff proposed a plan to extend the first phase.
Israel said it had adopted the proposal, while Hamas rejected the plan. Israel then announced that all humanitarian aid materials were stopped from entering Gaza.
