Palestinians continue to return to Beit Lahia, a city in northern Gaza that was devastated by Israeli attacks, through the rubble and damaged buildings, Beit Lahia, Gaza, March 8, 2025. /VCG
Palestinians continue to return to Beit Lahia, a city in northern Gaza that was devastated by Israeli attacks, through the rubble and damaged buildings, Beit Lahia, Gaza, March 8, 2025. /VCG
Israel and Hamas signaled on Saturday that they were preparing for the next phase of ceasefire negotiations, as mediators pushed ahead with efforts to extend the fragile 42-day truce that began in January.
Hamas said there were "positive indicators" for the start of second-phase ceasefire talks but did not elaborate.
Israel also said it was preparing for talks. "Israel has accepted the invitation of the mediators backed by the U.S. and will send a delegation to Doha on Monday in an effort to advance the negotiations," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
A Hamas delegation is holding ceasefire talks in Cairo with Egyptian mediators, who, along with officials from Qatar, have been facilitating discussions. The negotiations aim to progress to the next stage of the deal, which could pave the way for ending the war.
"We affirm our readiness to engage in the second-phase negotiations in a way that meets the demands of our people, and we call for intensified efforts to aid the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade on our suffering people," Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said in a statement.
In a later statement, Hamas reported that its delegation met with the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Agency, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, and confirmed its approval of forming a committee of "national and independent" figures to govern Gaza until elections are held.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi earlier said Cairo had worked in cooperation with Palestinians on creating an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted with the governance of Gaza after the end of the Israel-Gaza conflicts.
His remarks came during an Arab summit that adopted Egypt's alternative reconstruction plan for Gaza, in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump's "Middle East Riviera" vision.
Even as diplomacy continued, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Saturday, according to medical sources.
The Israeli military said its aircraft struck a drone that crossed from Israel into southern Gaza and "several suspects" who attempted to retrieve it in what appeared to be a botched smuggling attempt.
The strike followed an Israeli drone attack on Friday that killed two people in Gaza. The Israeli military stated it had targeted a group of suspected militants operating near its troops in northern Gaza who were planting an explosive device in the ground.
The Gaza ceasefire deal, which took effect in January, calls for the release of the remaining 59 hostages held by Hamas in a second phase, during which final plans would be negotiated for an end to the conflicts.
The first phase of the ceasefire ended last week. Since then, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods entering the enclave, demanding that Hamas release the remaining hostages before negotiations to end the Gaza conflict can begin.
(With input from Reuters)