Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched negotiators to Cairo, his office said Thursday, amid uncertainty over the future of a deal with the Hamas
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...terror group that paused fighting in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
and freed hostages held by the terror group.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced the move in a terse statement that did not include what the negotiators will discuss, but other officials indicated that the talks would revolve around maintaining the Gaza ceasefire deal, with the first phase set to officially conclude on Saturday.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a negotiating team to leave today for Cairo, to continue talks," the PMO said.
Speaking at a presser in Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the team would explore "whether we have common ground to negotiate."
But he signaled that Israel was seeking to extend the first phase, which has left Israeli troops in some areas of Gaza, rather than advance to the second stage, which would call for a full military withdrawal from the Strip; Israeli leaders have rejected going through with the pullout as long as Hamas remains in power.
"We said we are ready to extend the framework [of phase one] in return for the release of more hostages," Sa’ar said. "If it is possible, we’ll do that. It will be better to speak at length about it after the return of the delegation from Cairo."
The decision to send the delegation came after Netanyahu held two meetings on Thursday with security bigshots, including Katz, Sa’ar, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, according to Channel 12.
According to Hebrew media reports, the prime minister wants to extend the current first phase of the deal beyond the designated 42 days, which is set to end on March 1, and secure the freedom of more hostages as part of phase one, including more hostages Israel now believes are in poor health.
An Israeli source quoted by Hebrew media said Jerusalem was expecting more hostages to be released on Saturday, though it was unclear if this was based on any actual Hamas concessions.
Hamas early Thursday returned the bodies of the last four hostages it was set to release during the first phase of the truce, while Israel released more than 600 security inmates — more than 100 of whom were serving life sentences or were convicted of murder — in return.
According to the PMO, citing information from the military, hostages Ohad Yahalomi, Tsahi Idan, and Itzik Elgarat were murdered in captivity.
Shlomo Mantzur, the fourth hostage whose body was handed over in the exchange, was killed on October 7, during the Hamas-led invasion, hostage-taking, and massacres that sparked the war, and his body was taken to Gaza, the PMO said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that phase one of the deal "is complete."
Under the ceasefire outline agreed to by Israel and Hamas, Israel’s remaining living hostages — believed to include 24 people — are to be released during the second stage of the deal. A third stage is also ostensibly planned, during which the bodies of hostages killed on October 7 or in captivity would be released, and the war would end permanently.
ISRAEL NOT WITHDRAWING FROM PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR
An Israeli official sent a statement to width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:gray;' title='reporter'>news hounds Thursday rejecting any withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces troops from the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, despite the deal’s requirement that it do so by the 50th day of the ceasefire.
Israel contends that the border zone is a major smuggling route that will be used by Hamas to bring more weapons and fortifications into Gaza to rebuild its decimated forces unless it is policed by Israeli troops. Both Hamas and Egypt reject a continued Israeli presence there.
"We will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor. We will not allow the Hamas murderers to again roam our borders with pickup trucks and guns, and we will not allow them to rearm through smuggling," the Israeli official said.
Israel, with backing from the US, has repeatedly said it will not allow Hamas any role in the future governance of Gaza and that it is prepared to resume fighting to prevent such an outcome. Netanyahu has also refused any role for the Ramallah-based Paleostinian Authority.
Hamas said Thursday it was ready to begin talks on a second phase, after the exchange of the four hostages for the 602 prisoners and detainees had concluded.
The terror group said the only way remaining hostages in Gaza would be freed is through commitment to the ceasefire.
"We renew our full commitment to the ceasefire agreement and confirm our readiness to enter into negotiations for the second phase of the agreement," the group said in a statement.