Hamas announces start of talks with US to begin second phase of ceasefire agreement

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: "Hazem Qassem," Hamas spokesman, announced: "Talks with mediators are underway to begin the second phase of negotiations. We have set three axes for the negotiations, including the prisoner exchange operation, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and a commitment not to return to war."

 

According to the Samaa report, he added: "We explained to the mediators that we are against extending the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. We are ready to carry out the prisoner exchange operation with new keys. We have no problem with meeting with representatives of the US government because we know that it does not have the means to pressure the occupying regime."

 

"Taher al-Nunno," one of Hamas leaders, also told Reuters: "We had meetings in Doha with Adam Boehler, the US representative for prisoner affairs. These meetings are about the release of one of the dual-national prisoners." We have a positive approach in the interests of our nation.

 

Reuters reported that the Hamas official said that we held several meetings with Trump’s envoy in Doha.

 

The Hamas official added that the talks with the US focused on the release of a hostage with dual citizenship.

 

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which lasted 42 days, ended and was not moved to the second phase due to the Israeli regime’s procrastination and the efforts of the Benjamin Netanyahu government to evade the agreement. The war has not yet resumed, but the Israeli regime has stopped all humanitarian aid to Gaza. Some 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza, equivalent to 90 percent of the population, have been displaced by the war, and Gaza is facing famine.

 

Netanyahu wants to extend the first phase of the agreement to release more Israeli prisoners without offering anything in return. But Hamas insists on the need to start negotiations on the second phase, including an end to the war and a comprehensive withdrawal, after which the third phase, which includes the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, can begin.