GAZA: Truce talks dogged by divisions

  Israel said its negotiating team was discussing the hostage issue with Egyptian mediators on Sunday, as deep divisions persist between Israel and Hamas over the terms of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, the initial phase of the ceasefire took effect on January 19, largely halting more […]

 

Israel said its negotiating team was discussing the hostage issue with Egyptian mediators on Sunday, as deep divisions persist between Israel and Hamas over the terms of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

Mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, the initial phase of the ceasefire took effect on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

That phase ended in early March, and though both sides have since refrained from all-out war, they have been unable to agree on the next stage of the ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that an Israeli negotiating team was “currently meeting in Egypt with senior Egyptian officials to discuss the issue of hostages”.

Hamas has consistently demanded negotiations for the second phase. Israel, however, seeks to extend the first phase until mid-April.