Talks between Israel and Hamas on the next stage of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip began in Cairo on Friday.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed his country’s negotiators to travel to Cairo “to continue negotiations” aimed at preserving the fragile ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The announcement came hours after the remains of four Israeli hostages were returned as part of the first phase of the agreement.
The bodies handed over to Hamas were the last of 33 hostages to be returned to Israel in the first phase of the ceasefire. In return, Israel released some 600 more Palestinian prisoners.
Fifty-nine Israeli hostages are still being held in Gaza, 24 of who are alive. Their fate depends on a future ceasefire agreement.
The plan was to return the remaining hostages in the second phase of the deal in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. But Netanyahu is under intense pressure from hard-line members of his cabinet. They are demanding that the prime minister abandon the truce and resume Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas.
Netanyahu has said for more than a year that the goal of the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 people, is to destroy or at least disarm Hamas. That goal Israel’s military has yet to achieve.
However, Israel’s prime minister is also under intense pressure from the families of the hostages to keep the truce in place so their loved ones can return home. US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he will support Israel no matter what Netanyahu decides to do.
