Israel says second phase of Gaza ceasefire hinges on Hamas hostage release
Displaced Palestinians struggle with the harsh winter conditions in tents they set up in demolished houses in Bani Suheila, Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 24, 2025. Photo: Anadolu Agency
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Tuesday that the country is prepared to move forward with the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, contingent on Hamas releasing additional hostages. As of now, Hamas is still holding 59 Israeli hostages.
"We are ready to continue to phase two," Saar told journalists in Jerusalem as Arab leaders prepared to meet in Cairo to discuss a plan for ending the war permanently, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
"But in order to extend the time or the framework, we need an agreement to release more hostages."
Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January 19 under a truce arranged with U.S. support and Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
But the initial 42-day truce has expired and Hamas and Israel, which has blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza, remain far apart on broader issues including the postwar governance of Gaza and the future of Hamas itself.
Hamas says it wants to move ahead to the second phase negotiations that could open the way to a permanent end to the war with the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the devastated Palestinian enclave and a return of the remaining 59 hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
But Israel says its hostages must be handed over for the truce to be extended and backs a plan to extend the ceasefire during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Saturday, until after the Jewish Passover holiday in April.
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