GAZA CITY: The first phase of the Israel-Hamas truce drew to a close on Saturday, but negotiations on the next stage, which should secure a permanent ceasefire, have so far been inconclusive.
The ceasefire took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of war sparked by October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country's history.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday warned against a return to hostilities in war-torn Gaza, saying such an outcome would be "catastrophic."
As the first phase of the Israel-Hamas truce agreement drew to a close with uncertainty over the next steps, Guterres said in a statement that "a permanent ceasefire and the release of all captives are essential to preventing escalation and averting more devastating consequences for civilians."
Over the initial six-week phase, Hamas freed 25 living captives and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
A second phase of the fragile truce was supposed to secure the release of dozens of captives still in Gaza and pave the way for a more permanent end to the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sent a delegation to Cairo and mediator Egypt said "intensive talks" on the second phase had begun with the presence of delegations from Israel as well as fellow mediators Qatar and the United States.
But by early Saturday, there was no sign of consensus and Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the group rejected "the extension of the first phase in the formulation proposed by the occupation (Israel)".
He called on mediators "to oblige the occupation to abide by the agreement in its various stages".
Max Rodenbeck, of the International Crisis Group think tank, said the second phase cannot be expected to start immediately. "But I think the ceasefire probably won't collapse also," he said.
Hamas released footage showing what appeared to be a group of Israeli captives in Gaza, accompanied with the message: "Only a ceasefire agreement brings them back alive". AFP was unable to immediately verify the video.
A Palestinian source close to the talks said that Israel had proposed to extend the first phase in successive one-week intervals with a view to conducting hostage-prisoner swaps each week, adding that Hamas had rejected the plan.
Domestic political considerations are a factor in Netanyahu's reluctance to begin the planned second stage. SEE ALSO P6
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
