Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire in Washington on February 3, just hours after completing the fourth prisoner-hostage exchange during the ceasefire, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced on February 2.
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| Gaza situation: Israel and Hamas are currently implementing the first phase of a 42-day ceasefire to end fighting. (Source: Reuters) |
According to the announcement, the Israeli Prime Minister spoke with US President Steve Witkoff's Middle East envoy on the same day and agreed that negotiations would "begin when they meet in Washington".
Mr Witkoff will talk to Qatar and Egypt, the main mediators, before discussing with the Israeli prime minister "steps to advance the negotiations, including a timetable for delegations to travel to the talks".
The parties have yet to set an official date for the start of phase two negotiations, which will involve mediators and delegations from Hamas and Israel, while the 42-day first phase is expected to end next month.
Phase two is expected to include releasing the remaining hostages and discussing a more permanent end to the conflict, something some members of Netanyahu's government oppose.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the United States on February 2. Netanyahu's office said he has been invited to visit the White House on February 4 and the two leaders will discuss the situation in Gaza, hostages held by Hamas, and other issues.
Earlier, on January 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it had received commitments from international mediators to "safely release" the hostages in the Gaza Strip in upcoming prisoner exchanges. The statement was made after chaos broke out during the handover of seven hostages earlier that day, prompting Israel to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners.
"At the request of Prime Minister Netanyahu, the intermediaries have committed to ensuring the safe release of our hostages in the next stages," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Later, sources at the scene said two buses carrying Palestinian prisoners left Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank as part of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
On January 29, Israel denied Hamas' accusations of delaying aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip under the ceasefire agreement. A spokesman for the Israeli Defense Ministry's Coordination of Civil Affairs in the Palestinian Territories (COGAT) stressed: "This is completely fake news. From January 26 to 1:00 p.m. on January 29 (6:00 p.m. Vietnam time), 3,000 aid trucks entered Gaza. The agreement stipulates that this number should be 4,200 trucks in 7 days."
Earlier in the day, Hamas officials said Israel was not sending essential aid items - such as fuel, tents, heavy machinery and other equipment - into Gaza, under the phase one deal of the ceasefire that took effect on January 19. Hamas warned this could affect the release of hostages.
Israel and Hamas are currently implementing the first 42-day phase of a ceasefire aimed at ending fighting in Gaza.
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