Negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas are taking place in Cairo, and an Israeli official says the country's negotiating team was returning home Friday evening.
The Israeli official, speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss , said the talks were to continue Saturday. That's when the agreement’s first phase technically expires, but under , fighting won’t resume during the negotiations.
It was not clear if Israeli negotiators would travel back to Cairo on Saturday. Hamas said Friday it “reaffirms its full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details.â€
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Hamas says no to Israeli plan to extend ceasefire's phase 1
Hamas has rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefire's first phase by 42 days, saying it goes against the truce agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
The Israeli proposal calls for extending the ceasefire through the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in return for an additional hostage exchange, the Hamas member said.
The first phase of the ceasefire, which started Jan. 19, saw the release of 33 Israeli hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
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Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed.
What’s on the table in the ceasefire talks?
Negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase are meant to find an end to the war — including the return of all the hostages still alive in Gaza and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the territory.
It will be difficult to reconcile a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war objectives, which call for dismantling Hamas’ governing and military capabilities. After suffering heavy losses in the war, Hamas has nonetheless emerged intact during the ceasefire, and the group says it will not give up its weapons.
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Israeli negotiators depart Cairo truce talks, official says
The Israeli negotiating team sent to Cairo to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire deal with Hamas will return to Israel on Friday evening, an Israeli official said.
The official, speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door negotiations, said that the talks were to continue Saturday. It was not clear if the Israeli negotiating team would travel back to Cairo to attend them.
The talks are the first serious effort at moving the rocky ceasefire into its second phase, during which Hamas is supposed to release all living hostages in exchange for Israel withdrawing all troops from Gaza and an end to war. The first phase of the ceasefire is set to expire Saturday.
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Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.
How are Palestinians in war-torn Gaza celebrating Ramadan?
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, , observant Muslims around the world don't eat or drink from sunrise until sunset. The month is known for increased prayers, charity and spirituality as well as gatherings centered around eating different foods and desserts throughout the night.
In Gaza's heavily damaged north, Associated Press video showed a bustling street market in Gaza City offering essential ingredients for Ramadan meals and breaking the daily fast, including olives, pickles, spices, dates and dried fruit. One stall displayed fresh vegetables, while a nearby kiosk sold festive Ramadan decorations.
Saeed al-Bitar laid out his merchandise on a table: plastic toy lanterns. He told the AP there were far fewer shoppers this year and they didn’t have nearly the same purchasing power.
Usually on the day before Ramadan, he said the market was so busy he had no time to stop and chat with people. However, “Today conditions are tough and the things have completely changed.â€
Back home for Ramadan but many in Gaza live among ruins
Nearly 600,000 Palestinians have flooded back to devastated during the ceasefire. Some say the holy month of Ramadan feels better than last year — when many were displaced to squalid tent camps and faced death each day from Israeli bombardments — but it still feels far from normal.
“Most people are dead tired," Gaza City resident Nasser Shoueikh told The Associated Press. “Their homes have been destroyed. Some people can’t afford to shop for Ramadan, but our faith in God is great as he never forgets to bless people.â€
The shaky ceasefire and being back home adds a measure of joy to the holy month, said one woman, Amal Abu Sariyah. “We were at war last Ramadan.â€
Alleged ties between Netanyahu’s advisers and Qatar are being investigated
Israel’s attorney general has instructed authorities to open a probe into alleged ties between advisers of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Qatari government.
Israeli media have reported that three of Netanyahu’s former aides worked for Qatar, a key mediator in the current Israel-Hamas ceasefire, while working with Netanyahu.
In a statement, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s office said the decision to open an investigation came after Israeli police and the Shin Bet security service presented evidence connecting Netanyahu’s advisers with Qatar. Police and the Shin Bet are to carry out the investigation, the statement said.
Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu’s former spokesperson who was recently charged with leaking classified military documents to foreign media in a separate case, was reported by Israel’s Channel 12 to have worked for a Doha-based firm that recruited Israeli journalists to write pro-Qatar stories. Israel’s left leaning daily, Haaretz, has reported that two other Netanyahu staffers, Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn, allegedly built a campaign to bolster Qatar’s image ahead of the 2022 World Cup there.
The investigation comes as Netanyahu is already on trial for corruption. In what appeared to be a response to the investigation, Netanyahu’s Likud party released a statement alleging that as the legal cases against the prime minster fall apart, new cases against his staff are being fabricated.
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Hamas says it is committed to implementing all terms of the ceasefire deal
Hamas said Friday it is committed to adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel, as negotiators tried to work out the truce's second phase with a fresh round of talks in Cairo.
The militant group said it “reaffirms its full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details†in a statement released Friday. It called on the international community to pressure Israel to “immediately proceed to the second phase without any delay or evasion.â€
It was unclear if progress was being made. Israel and Hamas have accused one another of violating the ceasefire at various points during the first phase.
Under the terms of the truce in Gaza that went into effect Jan. 19, during the second phase Hamas is supposed to release all the remaining living hostages in exchange for Israel withdrawing all its troops from Gaza and ending the war.
8 arrested for spitting at churches amid tensions
Israeli police said Friday they arrested eight people for spitting at churches in Jerusalem’s Old City, as religious tensions threatened to flare in the contested capital.
Grainy security video released by the police showed two young Jewish men in a procession, who appeared to be spitting on the ground.
The police said they arrested both minors and adults, but did not specify their ages or names.
Clergy have said that attacks on church property in the Old City have worsened since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war Oct. 7, 2023.
The arrests come as the Old City gears up for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a holiday that could spark clashes.
Sister of dead Israeli hostage asks for his forgiveness in stadium eulogy
Mourners in Israel on Friday were burying the remains of one of the last hostages released in the first phase of the between Hamas and Israel, as negotiators discussed a second phase of the deal that could end the war in Gaza and see the returning home.
The funeral procession for Tsachi Idan, an avid soccer fan who was 49 when he was abducted by Hamas militants, began from a football stadium in Tel Aviv towards the cemetery where he was to be buried in a private ceremony.
“Today, I say goodbye to my dear brother,†said Idan’s sister, Noam Idan Ben Azra, speaking before the crowd of fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv, the soccer team Idan supported. “I asked him for forgiveness, on our behalf, that he was returned in a coffin not walking as he was taken.â€
Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of the family’s safe room.
