Israeli and Hamas negotiators met in Cairo, but the Israeli delegation returned home without an agreement.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Araby TV that extending the first phase “in the format that Israel wants” is unacceptable, accusing Israel of trying to retrieve the remaining 59 hostages in Gaza before resuming hostilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not comment on Hamas’s stance.
Current ceasefire
The first phase allowed Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages – including eight bodies – in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
With the truce set to expire Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for restraint, saying the ceasefire “must hold.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. on Friday approved over USD 3 billion in military equipment sales to Israel, despite concerns that a collapse of the truce could reignite the 15-month conflict.
Humanitarian toll
Gaza’s Health Ministry puts the death toll at 48,388, while the Government Media Office says at least 61,709 people are presumed dead, including those still buried under rubble.
More than 1,100 Israelis were killed during Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war. The six-week ceasefire facilitated some U.N. aid deliveries to Gaza, though residents report continuing shortages of food and medicine.
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Source: Reuters, PAP, NPR, Al Jazeera