Canberra Times / AAP | 2 March 2025
God please bring both sides together for peace – Mark
The latest round of talks on a second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has made “no progress” and it is unclear when they will resume, a senior Hamas official says.
Phase one expires on Saturday but under the deal’s terms, fighting should not resume while negotiations are underway on phase two, which could end the war in the Gaza Strip, result in Israeli troops withdrawing and allow the remaining living hostages to return home.
According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in the Gaza Strip are dead.
The first phase, which paused 15 months of fighting in the Palestinian enclave, featured the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners.
Hundreds of thousands of people returned home to the north of the Gaza Strip, aid into the territory increased and Israeli forces withdrew to buffer zones.
Officials from Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been involved in negotiations on the second phase in Cairo.
Hamas did not attend but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told the Associated Press there had been “no progress” before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday.
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www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8905720/hamas-reports-no-progress-in-talks-on-second-phase/?cs=14232
