‘No Progress’: Hamas Rejects Israeli Proposal to Extend Phase One of Ceasefire

Latest Developments

Phase One of Ceasefire Ends: Hamas said that it rejected Israel’s proposal to extend phase one of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which expired on March 1. During the first phase which lasted 42 days, a total of 33 Israeli hostages were released in weekly exchanges for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of them incarcerated on terror charges. Israel is reportedly seeking a continuation of the phase one framework rather than moving to phase two, which requires a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
Second Phase Negotiations Stall in Cairo: Negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire began this week in Cairo, with delegations from Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States participating in the deliberations. Despite the start of talks, Hamas official Bassem Naim said on February 28 that there had been “no progress” in negotiating a second phase, adding that he didn’t know when the negotiations were set to resume.
Hostages Remain: Following the end of phase one of the ceasefire, 59 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. The Iran-backed terrorist organization released a propaganda video on March 1 showing brothers Iair and Eitan Horn, both taken hostage during Hamas’s October 7 2023 atrocities, embracing before Iair’s release on February 15. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the video “brutal propaganda, in which our hostages are forced to engage in psychological warfare.”

FDD Expert Response

“Besides demonstrating the cruelty that is common among terrorist groups, Hamas cynically used the Horn brothers as a prop for psychological warfare. Furthermore, the publication of the video was not coincidental. One of Hamas’s goals is to compel the Israeli government — by any means necessary — to approve the second phase of the ceasefire deal currently being negotiated by mediators. This would ensure that after the war, the Islamist group and its allies will continue to rule the Gaza Strip, a measure Israel is opposed to.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“Israel is at an apparent impasse. If it continues with phase two of the ceasefire, the IDF will be obligated to fully withdraw from Gaza, leaving Hamas intact and ready to rebuild its strength. Israel promised its southern residents that it would never let the group threaten their border communities again and is now negotiating for the release of as many hostages as possible before any resumption of military action against the Iran-backed terrorist organization.” — Aaron Goren, Research Analyst and Editor