CAIRO, FEB 28 (AFP/APP/DNA):Talks resume in Cairo Friday on a second phase of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire that mediators hope will bring a lasting end to the Gaza conflict, a day after Israel’s military acknowledged its “complete failure” to prevent the 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war.
Mediator Egypt said Thursday that Israeli, Qatari and US delegations were already in Cairo for “intensive” talks on the next stage of the ceasefire, after a first phase only reached following months of gruelling negotiations.
“The relevant parties have begun intensive talks to discuss the next phases of the truce agreement, amid ongoing efforts to ensure the implementation of the previously agreed understandings,” said Egypt’s State Information Service.
The ceasefire, whose first phase is set to expire on Saturday, has largely halted the fighting that began when Hamas fighters broke through Gaza’s security barrier on October 7, 2023, in an attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliation has killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN has deemed reliable.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent negotiators to Cairo on Thursday, after Hamas handed over the remains of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners under the truce.
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