By Reuters
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo, Egyptian officials said, ahead of Saturday’s expiration of the truce’s first phase.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said an Israeli delegation has travelled to Egypt to see whether there is enough common ground to negotiate an extension to the deal.
The fragile first phase continues to hold, after Israel released 46 Palestinian prisoners, including 24 children from Gaza, after a delay in the verification of the bodies of four captives handed over by Hamas.
An internal Israeli army probe into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks has acknowledged the military’s “complete failure” to prevent the assault.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,365 Palestinian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, while 111,780 people have been wounded. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to at least 61,709, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
