Hamas says talks on second stage of truce must start

Hamas has reiterated its demand that talks begin on the second stage of the ceasefire deal, accusing Israel of causing delays, as it prepares to submit the names of three captives set for release on Saturday.

Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu demanded that talks start immediately and urged mediators to remove any obstacles that would delay the agreement’s implementation.

Al-Nunu, an advisor to Hamas’s political bureau, further emphasised that mediators must pressure Israel into abiding by the terms of the deal by allowing tents, fuel, and rubble-clearing equipment as well as other essential aid items.

Heavy machinery and mobile homes have been waiting at the Egyptian side of the border for permission from Israeli forces to be allowed into Gaza while Palestinians struggle to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones and return home.

Captives to be released

Hamas is expected later on Friday to provide mediators with the list of the three captives to be released on Saturday, Israeli media reported. 

The tension and fragility of the agreement have divided Israeli society, with many anxious that talks could break down, eventually resulting in the captives not being released.

Families of the captives have also called on the Israeli Knesset to start discussing the second stage of the truce, to which they were met with contradictory statements from Israeli officials, further fuelling concerns.

Yehuda Cohen, the father of a captive held in Gaza, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of preferring those held in Gaza to return home “in body bags”.

“[Netanyahu] preferred them being back in bags. They can’t talk, they’re not being seen. For him, it’s a total victory. He promised, ‘Yeah, I’m bringing them back. Dead, but yeah, doesn’t matter.'” he said in a US television interview this week.

The deal has so far faced many obstacles, including US President’s widely condemned suggestion to displace Gaza’s population and turn it into a Middle Eastern ‘Riviera’, and some of these have brought the agreement close to collapse.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the movement appreciates “the positions of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and all countries that oppose the displacement policy proposed by the US President Donald Trump”.

The latest developments come as Israeli tanks opened fire along the Salah al-Din corridor on Friday, and a Palestinian man was also detained from the al-Salam neighbourhood east of Rafah city, according to The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

West Bank offensive expanded

Meanwhile, Israeli forces expanded the military offensive in the occupied West Bank, carrying out raids and incursions in various cities.

Israel has been attacking Jenin for 25 days now, with at least 25 Palestinians killed since the aggression started. Tulkarm has been under attack for 19 days, with Israeli soldiers raiding homes daily.

At least 470 homes and buildings have been either partially or fully destroyed in Jenin as a result, while water and electricity have also been cut off for residents, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency, while schools and healthcare services have come to a standstill.

Around 120 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces from Jenin and its refugee camp, with many of them subjected to interrogations.

On Thursday evening, Israeli soldiers were heavily deployed across Tulkarm, carrying out searches of people and forcibly evicting families from their homes amid cold winter temperatures.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said this week that at least 380 Palestinians from Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas have been detained since the start of the offensive.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,709 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 while 14,222 are believed to be still trapped under the rubble, presumed dead.

At least 884 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in the same time frame, the Palestinian health ministry and government media office reported.