Israel to send team to Doha as Hamas seeks phase II talks

GAZA CITY — 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 cease-fire's second phase, which it hopes will lead to a permanent end to the conflict.

Representatives of the Palestinian militant group met with mediators in Cairo over the weekend, stressing the urgent need for humanitarian aid to reenter 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 this would pave the way for a permanent end to the conflict.

Hamas' 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 spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said indicators were so far "positive".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would send delegates to Qatar's capital Doha on Monday, while Israeli media reported that the government's security cabinet would discuss the matter later on Sunday.

Israel says it wants an extension of the truce's first phase until mid-April.

That initial period ended on March 1 after six weeks of relative calm that included the exchange of 25 living hostages and eight bodies for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The truce largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, where virtually the entire population was displaced by Israel's relentless military campaign in response to Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack.

It also enabled the flow of vital food, shelter and medical assistance into Gaza.

'Weaponizing starvation'

After Israel cut off that flow again, United Nations rights experts accused the government of "weaponizing starvation".

Displaced Palestinian widow Haneen al-Dura told AFP that she and her children spent weeks living on the street "among dogs and rats "before receiving a tent.

"As the family's provider, it was distressing and I couldn't sleep at all during the night," she said.

Meanwhile, the administration of US President Donald Trump has confirmed the start of unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, with which Washington had previously refused contact since designating it a terrorist organization in 1997.

Meetings between Hamas leaders and US hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days have focused on the release of an American-Israeli dual national being held by the militant group in Gaza, senior Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Sunday.

"Several meetings have already taken place in Doha, focusing on releasing one of the dual-nationality prisoners. We have dealt positively and flexibly, in a way that serves the interests of the Palestinian people," said Nono, political adviser to the leader of Hamas.

He said the two sides also discussed how to see through the implementation of the phased cease-fire agreement.

"We informed the American delegation that we don't oppose the release of the prisoner within the framework of these talks," he said.

On Saturday, families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, with dozens of freed captives, urged Netanyahu to fully implement the cease-fire deal and prevent a return to conflict.

"The war could resume in a week... Only an agreement that brings them all at once will ensure their return," said Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, a hostage still held in Gaza.

"Netanyahu has turned my son Matan and other hostages into pawns in his political game of chess," she added.

Agencies via Xinhua