Gaza ceasefire mediation efforts ongoing with positive signs for 2nd-phase negotiations: Hamas

​​​​​​​By Mohamed Majed and Rania Abu Shamala

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, confirmed Saturday that mediation efforts led by Egypt and Qatar are continuing to finalize the implementation of a ceasefire agreement with Israel and initiate negotiations for the second phase.

“Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are continuing their efforts to ensure the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement and to launch the second-phase negotiations, with positive indicators emerging,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou, said in a statement.

“We affirm our readiness to engage in the second-phase negotiations in a way that meets our people's demands, and we call for intensified efforts to provide relief to Gaza and lift the siege on our suffering people,” said al-Qanou.

He noted that “the Hamas leadership delegation, currently in Cairo since yesterday (Friday), is discussing mechanisms for launching the second-phase negotiations, ensuring Israel’s commitment to them, and implementing the outcomes of the Arab Summit.”

On Tuesday, an emergency Arab Summit on Palestine in Cairo reaffirmed, in its final statement, the utmost priority of fully implementing the ceasefire agreement. The summit emphasized that it should lead to a permanent cessation of aggression against Gaza and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory.

The summit also adopted a five-year plan for Gaza’s reconstruction, ensuring no displacement of Palestinians, with a budget of $53 billion. Israel and the US, however, rejected the plan, insisting on the framework proposed by US President Donald Trump.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, halting Israel’s brutal war, which has killed more than 48,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.