Israel and the Hamas terrorist group have resumed Cairo cease-fire negotiations, with the existing truce set to expire this weekend, according to Egyptian officials.
If they don’t reach an agreement, fighting may resume. During the six-week pause that began on Jan. 19, Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2006, released 25 hostages and the bodies of eight more back to Israel, in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of them serving life or long prison terms.
Hamas still holds an estimated 25 living hostages and the bodies of 30 more.
The Israeli delegation, as well as one from Qatar, which mediates the negotiations along with Egypt and the United States, arrived in Cairo on Feb. 27, according to the Jerusalem Post.
According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli negotiating team would return from Cairo on the evening of Feb. 28, but go back there the next day.
The Egyptian officials said Israel was seeking a 42-day extension of the cease-fire’s first phase. Hamas opposes that, seeking instead to stick to the original plan and move to a second phase, including steps to a permanent end to the war.
Under Israel’s plan, three hostages would be returned each week, as in the first phase, in exchange for continuing prisoner releases and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Hamas, though, says that the only way they will free the remaining hostages is through a commitment to a cease-fire deal.
According to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, extending the first phase and releasing the remaining hostages would take away Hamas’s only bargaining chip.
A possible compromise might include returning hostage bodies or those classified as ill in exchange for prisoners serving long sentences, along with improved conditions for detainees in Israeli prisoners and increased humanitarian aid.
Israel does not want to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, its buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt. In the first phase, it was supposed to reduce its presence there and, in the second phase, withdraw completely.
But, according to the Jerusalem Post, an Israeli official said on Feb. 27 that to prevent Hamas from smuggling in arms, Israel will not withdraw from the area.
The corridor, about 100 meters wide, runs the length of the Gaza–Egypt frontier, around 9 miles, on the Gaza side of the border.
The war began with Hamas’s surprise attack on Israeli border communities and military bases on Oct. 7, 2023. An estimated 5,000 terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis, wounded thousands more, destroyed communities, and took 251 people hostage.
In the ensuing war, the Hamas-controlled Gaza health authorities say 48,000 people have been killed. They do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. Israel says about half were members of Hamas.
