Israel: Talks for second phase of Gaza ceasefire to start soon

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced that negotiations for the second phase of the prisoner-hostage swap deal with Hamas are set to begin soon.

In a press conference, Sa'ar affirmed that Israel would begin talks on the second phase and would demand “the complete demilitarization” of the Gaza Strip.

"The rule of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza has not been a successful experiment for Israel," he said, stressing that the Israeli government would not allow "another Hezbollah-style model" to take root in Gaza.

The Foreign Minister further confirmed that Tel Aviv “will not support a plan that involves transferring civilian control of Gaza from Hamas to the Palestinian Authority."

Notably, the second phase of the agreement is set to include the exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages with Palestinian detainees and the return of remains, alongside a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. It was expected to be underway before the first phase concludes on March 2, but Qatar noted that the talks have not officially started in Cairo.