Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold a meeting with security chiefs and ministers on Friday after Israel’s delegation returned from Cairo without a Gaza ceasefire extension, two officials said.
A Hamas official confirmed that Israel had sought to extend the 42-day truce agreed as a first stage in the ceasefire agreement through the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this weekend.
But he said Hamas wanted to move on to negotiations over the second stage, opening the way to a permanent end to the war.
“We are committed to the agreement,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mediators Seek More Time
Egyptian and Qatari mediators asked for some time over the next few days to resolve the impasse over the ceasefire, which is due to expire on Saturday, the officials said.
The agreement reached last month halted 15 months of fighting, allowing the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees and was meant to lead to subsequent talks to build on the truce.
Israeli officials have previously said Israel was ready to resume fighting in Gaza if all its remaining hostages are not returned.
However, Israel and Hamas remain far apart on key issues and each has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, casting doubt over the second phase of the deal meant to include the release of additional hostages and prisoners as well as steps toward a permanent end of the war.
No Sign Of Agreement
There is no sign of agreement, either among or between Israelis and Palestinians, or between Western and Arab governments, over Gaza’s future. That uncertainty is complicating efforts to negotiate a lasting resolution.
Hamas called on Friday for the international community to press Israel to immediately enter the second phase without delay. It is unclear what will happen if the first phase ends on Saturday without a deal.
A senior official of the Palestinian Authority, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian, also said on Friday that she would like the ceasefire phases to move ahead as originally planned.
“I doubt anyone in Gaza will want to go back to war,” she said in Geneva.
Cairo Talks
The Cairo meeting between Hamas and the Israeli delegation is being mediated by Egypt and Qatar with U.S. support. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday there were “pretty good talks going on”.
Asked whether the ceasefire deal would move into the second phase, Trump said: “Nobody really knows, but we’ll see what happens”.
The Gaza war is the latest confrontation in decades of conflict between Israel and Palestinians.
It began on October 7, 2023, when fighters from the Islamist group Hamas stormed border defences from Gaza and attacked Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli military campaign in retaliation has killed more than 48,000 people, according to Palestinian authorities, while destroying large swathes of the tiny, crowded territory and leaving most of its 2 million inhabitants homeless.
(With inputs from Reuters)
