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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Talks start on second phase of Gaza ceasefire deal

Palestinians wait to receive aid at a distribution point in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. — Reuters
Palestinians wait to receive aid at a distribution point in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. — Reuters
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CAIRO: Talks have started on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian group Hamas said on Tuesday. The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on January 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some Israeli captives 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 captives and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. "Contacts and negotiations 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 the continued implementation of the deal. Netanyahu was due to hold talks with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, with the focus likely to be on the ceasefire. The initial six-week truce, agreed with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the UN, has remained largely intact, but prospects for a durable settlement are unclear.


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