Uncertainty looms as first phase of Gaza truce expires, Netanyahu to hold security meet

The first phase of the Israel-Hamas truce is set to expire on Saturday (March 1), but negotiations on the next stage to secure a permanent ceasefire show little progress.

The ceasefire came into effect on 19 January after more than 15 months of war, which was triggered by the 7 October attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed group in the southern part of the country.

As part of the temporary ‘fragile’ ceasefire, Gaza militants freed 25 living hostages and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The second phase of the fragile truce, brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt after months of tough negotiations, is set to begin on Sunday. It aims to secure the release of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold a ministerial meeting on Friday with security officials, according to Israeli media. The meeting was held after he sent a delegation to Egypt for discussions on phase two of the truce.

Egypt’s State Information Service said on Thursday, “The relevant parties have begun intensive talks to discuss the next phases of the truce agreement, amid ongoing efforts to ensure the implementation of the previously agreed understandings.”

It also said Israeli, Qatari, and US delegations were in Cairo for the talks.
By early Saturday, there was no sign of consensus, nor of the presence of a Hamas delegation in the Egyptian capital.

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Max Rodenbeck, of the International Crisis Group think tank, said the second phase cannot be expected to start on Saturday.

“But I think the ceasefire probably won’t collapse either,” he said.

The preferred Israeli scenario is to free more hostages under an extension of the first phase, rather than move into a second phase, Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

Hamas, for its part, has pushed hard for phase two to begin, after suffering staggering losses in the devastating war.
In a statement, it said that it “affirms its full commitment to implementing all the provisions of the agreement in all its stages and details”.

The group also called for global pressure on Israel “to immediately enter the second phase of the agreement without any delay”.

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal “must hold”, with just hours to go before the initial phase expires.

“The coming days are critical. The parties must spare no effort to avoid a breakdown of this deal,” Guterres said in New York.

In Gaza and throughout the Muslim world, this weekend also marks the start of the holy month of Ramadan.