Hamas says talks start on second phase of Gaza ceasefire deal

Talks have started on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Tuesday.

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on Jan. 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.

Phase two of the three-phase deal is intended to focus on agreements on the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

"Contacts and negotiation on the second phase have begun," Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said, without providing further details.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier on Tuesday that Israel was preparing to send a high-level delegation to the Qatari capital Doha to discuss continued implementation of the deal.

Netanyahu was due to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, with the focus likely to be on the ceasefire as well as a possible normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia.

The initial six-week truce, agreed with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the U.S., has remained largely intact but prospects for a durable settlement are unclear.

The war began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign in Gaza since then has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities say.

Hamas and Netanyahu's government, which includes hardliners who opposed the ceasefire deal, say they are committed to reaching an agreement in the second phase although each has criticised the other over its implementation.

Israeli leaders say Hamas cannot remain in Gaza, but the movement has taken every opportunity it could to show the control it still exerts despite the loss of much of its former leadership and thousands of fighters during the war.

Qanoua said Israel had stalled in implementing the humanitarian protocol of the ongoing first phase, hindering the repair of hospitals, roads, water wells and infrastructure destroyed by Israel's 15-month offensive.

Israel did not immediately comment on Qanoua's assertion although Israeli deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show that Hamas had broken a lot of the rules that had been set.

Despite this, she said: "We are hopeful. We want to bring back all of our family members, and we need to make sure that Israel's security can be guarded."

Reuters