Israel and Hamas have begun negotiating next phase of Gaza ceasefire,
Egypt says
[February 28, 2025]
By MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH, WAFAA SHURAFA and NATALIE MELZER
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on
the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire began Thursday, Egypt said,
averting a collapse ahead of Saturday's expiration of the agreement's
first phase.
Officials from Israel, Qatar and the United States started “intensive
discussions” on the ceasefire's second phase in Cairo, Egypt‘s state
information service said.
“The mediators are also discussing ways to enhance the delivery of
humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of efforts to alleviate the
suffering of the population and support stability in the region,” its
statement said.
Phase 2 talks are meant to negotiate an end to the war, including the
return of all remaining hostages in Gaza who are alive, and the
withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the territory. Return of remaining
deceased hostages would happen in Phase 3.
According to Israel, there are 59 remaining hostages — 24 of whom are
still believed to be alive.
It will be difficult to reconcile a deal with the war objectives of
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has called 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.
Hours before talks began, an Israeli official said the country would not
withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for under
the ceasefire, a refusal that could severely complicate negotiations
with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile
truce.
Overnight, Hamas released the remains of four hostages in exchange for
over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire’s
first phase.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was expected
in the region in the coming days.
‘Blatant violation’
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with
regulations, said the army needed to remain in the so-called Philadelphi
corridor, on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, to prevent weapons
smuggling.
Separately, Defense Minister Israel Katz said at a meeting with local
leaders that he had seen tunnels penetrating the border on a recent
visit to the corridor, without providing evidence or elaborating on
Israel's plans. Egypt says it destroyed the smuggling tunnels from its
side years ago and set up a military buffer zone to halt smuggling.
Hamas said any Israeli attempt to maintain a buffer zone in the corridor
would be a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement. The militant
group says that sticking to the agreement is the only way for Israel to
secure the release of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel was supposed to begin withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor
on Saturday, the last day of the first phase, and complete it within
eight days. There was no immediate comment about the corridor from
Egypt, which is opposed to any Israeli presence on the Gaza side of its
border.
Remains of 4 hostages identified
The remains released Thursday were confirmed to be those of Ohad
Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsachi Idan, according to
the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of
the captives.
Mantzur, 85, was killed in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered
the war, and his body was taken into the territory. Israel said the
other three were killed in captivity, without elaborating.
“Our hearts ache upon receiving the bitter news,” Israeli President
Isaac Herzog said. “In this painful moment, there is some solace in
knowing that they will be laid to rest in dignity in Israel.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said he shared the “immense pain” of
the family and loved ones of Yahalomi, who had French citizenship.
Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been released overnight.
Most were detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up
after the Oct. 7 attack and held without charge on security suspicions.
Israel releases dozens of women and teenagers
Dozens of Palestinian teenagers as well as women detained by Israel in
Gaza were released Thursday back to hugs and tears from their loved
ones.
[to top of second column]
|
Mohammed Sahloul, 17, is greeted by his sister Nidaa after being
released from an Israeli prison in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip,
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The teenagers looked gaunt and skinny as they disembarked from Red
Cross buses in the southern town of Khan Younis. Many fell into the
arms of relatives, who spent days waiting for them after Israel held
up their release last weekend to protest what it called cruel
treatment of hostages by Hamas during their releases. Women cried
and hugged the boys.
The Palestinian prisoners club, a group representing current and
former prisoners, said those released into Gaza Thursday were 44
male teenagers aged 15-19 and two women.
In a separate prisoner release overnight, some fell to their knees
in gratitude after disembarking in Khan Younis. In the West Bank
town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of
relatives and well-wishers.
Israel had delayed the release of the prisoners on Saturday over
Hamas’ practice of parading hostages before crowds and cameras
during their release. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N.
officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
Hamas released the four bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza overnight
without a public ceremony.
The prisoners released Thursday included 445 men, 21 teenagers and
one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that
did not specify their ages. Only around 50 Palestinians were
released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this
round, while dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against
Israelis were exiled.
Truce in peril
The latest handover was the final one planned under the ceasefire’s
first six-week phase, which expires this weekend. Hamas has returned
33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000
Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all
the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of
Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration
has endorsed both goals.
But it's unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the
war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its
main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended
15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern
Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken
hostage.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000
Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who don't
differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say over
half the dead have been women and children.
The fighting displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and
decimated the territory’s infrastructure and health system.
At least 8 wounded in suspected car attack in Israel
In northern Israel, police said a driver rammed his car into people
at a highway bus stop, wounding at least eight Thursday in what
authorities believe was a militant attack.
Police said they had “neutralized” the suspect, who they described
as a 53-year-old Palestinian from the northern West Bank who lived
in Israel and was married to an Israeli citizen.
Medical workers said the ramming injured at least eight people, two
in serious condition, who they evacuated to the hospital.
___
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip and Melzer from
Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in
Jerusalem contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
