Hamas urges ‘immediate’ start of talks for second phase of Gaza ceasefire
Hamas urged, in a statement on early Sunday, the “immediate” start of talks for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Representatives of the Palestinian group met with mediators in Cairo at the weekend, emphasizing the need for humanitarian aid to re-enter the war-torn enclave “without restrictions or conditions,” according to a Hamas press release.
The high-level delegation also stressed the need for “moving directly to begin negotiations for the second phase” of the deal, which will aim to lay the groundwork for a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas’s demands for the second phase include a full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza, an end to the blockade, the reconstruction of the territory and financial support.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said indicators were so far “positive.”
The first phase of the ceasefire ended last week, and the Zionist occupation has since imposed a total blockade on all humanitarian aids entering the enclave.
Separately, a Palestinian citizen was martyred and several others were injured in the early hours of Sunday by the Zionist occupation forces’ gunfire in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
The Zionist occupation continues to violate the ceasefire agreement, targeting civilians across different areas.
“Israeli actions have systematically been directed against civilian population, with knowledge that they will cause great suffering and serious injury to body or to mental or physical health of civilians in Gaza,” said Saeed Bagheri, a lecturer and assistant professor in international law at the University of Reading.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,453 Palestinian martyrs in the Zionist occupation’s genocidal war on Gaza, with 111,860 people wounded. The Government Media Office updated its toll to at least 61,709, saying that thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
