LIVE update: Hamas calls out Israel over Gaza truce as deal set to expire

Al Jazeera

LIVE update: Hamas calls out Israel over Gaza truce as deal set to expire

Gaza prepares for Ramadan: Atmosphere different amid devastation in the strip

By Alice Speri and Usaid Siddiqui

Hamas has called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to immediately enter the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement “without any delay or hesitation”.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire begin in Cairo before Saturday’s expiration of the truce’s first phase.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said an Israeli delegation travelled to Egypt to see whether there is enough “common ground” to negotiate an extension to the deal.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,365 Palestinian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, while 111,780 people have been wounded. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to at least 61,709, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 taken captive.

Where does Trump stand on the Gaza ceasefire?

President Donald Trump took credit for the truce that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff helped push across the finish line after a year of negotiations led by the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar.

However, Trump has since sent mixed signals about the deal. Earlier this month, he set a firm deadline for Hamas to release all the captives, warning “all hell is going to break out” if it didn’t. But he said it was ultimately up to Israel, and the deadline came and went.

Trump sowed further confusion by proposing that Gaza’s population of some 2.3 million be relocated to other countries and for the US to take over the territory and develop it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the idea, but it was universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, including close US allies. Human rights groups said it could violate international law.

Trump stood by the plan in a Fox News interview over the weekend but said he’s “not forcing it”.