Phase one of Israel-Hamas truce due to expire
The first phase of the Israel-Hamas truce is due to expire 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 Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country's history.
Over several weeks, Gaza militants freed 25 living hostages and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The second phase of the fragile truce, which was brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt after months of gruelling negotiations, should begin on Sunday, and should secure the release of dozens of hostages still in Gaza.
On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold a ministerial meeting with security officials, according to Israeli media, after he sent a delegation to Egypt for discussions on phase two of the truce.
On Thursday, Egypt's State Information Service said: "The relevant parties have begun intensive talks to discuss the next phases of the truce agreement, amid ongoing efforts to ensure the implementation of the previously agreed understandings."
It also said Israeli, Qatari and US delegations were in Cairo for the talks.
By early Saturday, there was no sign of consensus, or of a presence of a Hamas delegation in the Egyptian capital.
Max Rodenbeck, of the International Crisis Group think tank, said the second phase cannot be expected to start on Saturday.
"But I think the ceasefire probably won't collapse also," he said.
The preferred Israeli scenario is to free more hostages under an extension of the first phase, rather than a second phase, Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Hamas, for its part, has pushed hard for phase two to begin, after it suffered staggering losses in the devastating war.
In a statement, it said that it "affirms its full commitment to implementing all the provisions of the agreement in all its stages and details".
The group also called for global pressure on Israel "to immediately enter the second phase of the agreement without any delay".
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
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