Israel to send team for Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar

Israel is expected to send a delegation to Doha to negotiate truce extension deal on Monday after Hamas held talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo.

Israel has confirmed it will send a delegation to Qatar’s capital for talks on extending a fragile ceasefire with Hamas.

On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a delegation would be sent to Doha on Monday in “an effort to advance negotiations”.

This comes after a Hamas team met Egyptian officials in Cairo on Saturday to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

“The delegation emphasised the necessity of adhering to all terms of the agreement proceeding immediately to initiate negotiations for the second phase, opening the border crossings, and allowing the entry of relief materials into Gaza without any restrictions or conditions,” it said in a statement.

In earlier comments, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said a day earlier that “indicators are positive regarding the start of negotiations for the second phase”.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal ended on March 1 , after six weeks of exchanges, including 25 living Israeli captives held in Gaza for the release of 1,800 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Meanwhile, freed Israeli captives and families of those still held in Gaza called on the government to move on to the second stage of the deal and prevent a return to war.

During a protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker, who is being held in Gaza, accused Netanyahu of playing a “political game of chess” with the captives.

“The war could resume in a week … Only an agreement that brings them all at once will ensure their return,” she said.

Reporting from Jordan, media’s Hamdah Salhut said Israel’s push to see an extension of phase one of the deal has led to a blockade of desperately needed humanitarian aid.

“There’s still so much pressure on Netanyahu from family members of captives who are accusing the premier of prolonging the war for his own personal and political gain,” she said.

Protests in Tel Aviv

Amid the talks, Israel continued its deadly assault on Gaza, killing at least three Palestinians on Saturday.

Palestinians in Gaza are also struggling under the aid blockade, which has worsened a dire humanitarian crisis amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.