Palestinian youths walk in war-devastated neighborhood, decorated ahead of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on February 28, 2025, amid the current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas.(Photo by AFP)
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has rejected Israel’s proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, calling on the international community to pressure the occupying regime to proceed to the second phase of the deal as originally planned.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem made the remarks in an interview with Al Araby television on Saturday, on the day the first stage of the deal was set to expire.
"Extending the first phase of the deal in the form proposed by Israel is unacceptable” to the resistance group, he said, adding that the occupying regime bears full responsibility for the failure to begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
Qassem also noted that Israel’s talk of extending the first phase aims to recover the remaining captives while potentially resuming the war on Gaza.
He went on to say that the Israeli regime is evading its commitment to ending the war and fully withdrawing from Gaza, adding that it “is trying to reset matters to square one by shuffling the cards with its proposal to extend the first phase.”
Qassem further said there are no current talks for a second ceasefire phase in Gaza with the Hamas, stressing that talks must begin on the next phase aimed at securing a permanent truce.
He also urged mediators and guarantor states to compel the Israeli regime to adhere to the agreement in all its stages and immediately enter the second phase of it without any hesitation.
Qassem’s remarks came a day after Hamas expressed its "full commitment" to the Gaza ceasefire deal, emphasizing that negotiations are the only way to secure the release of the remaining Israeli captives.
On Thursday, the Israeli foreign minister said, “We said we are ready to extend the framework [of phase one] in return for the release of more hostages. If it is possible, we’ll do that.”
Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing at least 48,348 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.
Israel accepted Hamas’ longstanding negotiation terms under the Gaza truce, which began on January 19.
Under the terms of the three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, the two sides were planned to hold indirect talks to hammer out the details of further exchanges.
It was planned that during negotiations on the second phase a permanent ceasefire would be established and Israeli forces would make a complete withdrawal as the remaining captives are freed.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said that the existing deal is for a temporary ceasefire and that the regime’s military has reserved “the right to return to fighting” at a future date.
