Israel to send negotiating team to Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks
Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that a delegation will be sent to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, for negotiations.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli negotiating team will travel to Cairo on Monday to discuss the continued implementation of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
In coordination with US Presidential Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the negotiations team to leave for Cairo tomorrow in order to discuss the continued implementation of the first stage of the deal.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 16, 2025
On the other side, a senior Hamas official told Agence France-Presse that the group expects negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal to begin early next week, adding that mediators continue discussions on the matter.
Talks on the second phase of the agreement were scheduled to begin on February 3, but Netanyahu delayed negotiations and sent a delegation without decision-making authority to Doha.
On Saturday, the sixth batch of the first phase of the Gaza agreement concluded with Hamas and Islamic Jihad releasing three Israeli detainees, while Israel freed 369 Palestinian prisoners.
Additionally, US Middle East envoy Steve Witcoff affirmed to Fox News that the Gaza ceasefire agreement is holding, and we are currently discussing ways to move forward with the next phase and secure the release of all hostages. He further acknowledged that the second phase of the deal is more complex, but my discussions with regional officials have been constructive.
