Israel agrees to temporary Gaza ceasefire during Ramadan and passover

Cairo : Israel's government said early Sunday it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza through Ramzan and Passover, though Hamas has insisted on negotiating the truce's second phase instead.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced a statement just minutes after the first phase of the ceasefire ended.

Israel has revealed details of a US-proposed ceasefire extension through Passover, April 20. The proposal involves releasing half of the hostages, including both living and dead, on the first day, with the remaining hostages to be released only upon reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement. This proposal came after US envoy Steve Witkoff determined that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire, as the parties' positions couldn't be bridged at this stage.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which earlier rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefire's first phase by 42 days- doubling its length - saying it goes against the truce agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.

Officials from Israel and mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been involved in negotiations on starting the ceasefire's second phase in Cairo.

But Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, told The Associated Press there had been “no progress” before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday. Hamas did not attend, but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Under the ceasefire deal's terms, fighting should not resume while negotiations are underway on phase two.

Israel's new statement says it can return to fighting “if it believes that the negotiations are ineffective,” and it noted Hamas' refusal to accept the proposal for an extension of the first phase.

However, "if Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan,” the statement says.

Before Israel's latest statement, an Egyptian official involved in the talks spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The official said Hamas, Qatar and Egypt wanted to continue with the existing ceasefire deal, and they rejected Israel's proposal to extend the ceasefire for four weeks with a release of hostages every Saturday without officially entering negotiations on the second phase.

The Egyptian official said the US wants to start negotiations on the second phase but called for hostage releases during the negotiations. Hamas insisted on a full implementation of the ceasefire terms.

The first phase, which paused 15 months of fighting in Gaza, saw the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of people returned home to northern Gaza, aid into the territory increased and Israeli forces withdrew to buffer zones.

According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead.

The future of the Gaza ceasefire is uncertain. Israel refuses to let Hamas govern Gaza, and Netanyahu has ruled out the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which is dominated by Fatah, Hamas' main rival.

However, Hamas leader Mohamed Darwish has offered to hand over power to a Palestinian national consensus government or an Egypt-proposed body of technocrats. Hamas has also dismissed Israel's suggestion that its leadership go into exile.

(inputs from PTI)