First phase of Gaza ceasefire ends: Is a second phase agreement on the table?
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S Panda - . March 1, 2025
- . Update: March 1, 2025 3:15 pm
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement has expired but no breakthrough has been announced at discussions in Egypt for the next phase of the truce. Israel’s negotiating delegation has returned from Cairo.
UN Secretary-General Guterres has emphasized that the ceasefire “must hold”, asking both parties to “spare no effort”. The brutal Israel-Hamas fighting has killed more than 48,000 people on the Palestinian side and some 1,200 on Israel’s.
Reuters has just reported that Hamas said on Saturday that it rejected Israel’s “formulation” of extending the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire. The group’s spokesperson Hazem Qaseem noted that there are no current talks for a second ceasefire phase.
Simultaneously, reports are emerging that scores of countries are likely to assemble in Geneva on March 7 to participate in a conference on the situation of people in the Israeli occupied territories. Keep an eye out for more details.
