The Hamas terror organization issued a statement today reaffirming their rejection of Israel’s proposal to extend the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem further indicated that, at this time, there are no talks ongoing about moving forward to the second phase of the deal. He stated, “Israel bears the responsibility for the fact that the negotiations for the second stage have not started,” adding, “Israel wants to return its hostages with the option to restart the fighting against Gaza.”
Another report revealed that discussions in Cairo aimed at laying the groundwork for the second stage of the ceasefire have failed. It was reported that Hamas will not release any hostages unless the entire agreement is implemented. The report suggested that the negotiators were unable to convince Israel to begin discussions for the second stage, asserting that Israel only seeks to extend the initial phase of the deal, contingent upon Hamas continuing to release hostages.
On Friday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu held a conference call with top officials in Israel’s defense sector and several ministers to discuss the ongoing negotiations regarding the deal.
{Matzav.com Israel}