ISRAEL on Sunday prepared to send a delegation to Doha for further talks on the Gaza truce, as Hamas called for an immediate start to negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase, which it hopes will lead to a permanent end to the war.
Representatives of the Palestinian militant group, which waged a deadly war with Israel before a truce took effect on 19 January met with mediators in Cairo over the weekend, stressing the urgent need for humanitarian aid to re-enter the besieged territory “without restrictions or conditions”, according to a Hamas statement.
“Hamas stresses the urgency of forcing the occupation to immediately begin second-phase negotiations under the agreed parameters,” senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi told AFP, adding that this would pave the way for a permanent end to the war.
Hamas’s key demands for the second phase include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an end to the Israeli blockade, the reconstruction of the Palestinian territory and financial support, Mardawi said.
Following talks with mediators, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanoua said indicators were so far “positive”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it would send delegates to Doha on Monday, while the Israeli media reported that the government’s security cabinet would discuss the matter later on Sunday.
Israel says that it wants an extension of the truce’s first phase until mid-April.
— AFP
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