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Hamas says it has begun talks on second phase of deal with Israel

According to Spokesman Abdel Latif al-Quanua, Hamas’s top concerns are to provide the population with housing and humanitarian assistance, and restoring the enclave

TUNIS, February 4. /TASS/. Israel and Hamas have begun talks on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, Hamas Spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanua said.

"Contacts and talks on the second phase [of the deal] have begun," he said in a statement released on Hamas’ Telegram channel. According to al-Quanua, Hamas’s top concerns are to provide the population with housing and humanitarian assistance, and restoring the enclave.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said earlier that Israel plans to send a working-level delegation to Qatar this week and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting of the country’s war cabinet to discuss Israel’s position on the second phase of the deal as soon as he returns from the United States.

The Israeli PM’s office announced on February 1 that Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, had agreed to launch talks on the next stage of the Gaza deal in Washington on February 3. The announcement read that Witkoff was also expected to meet with the prime minister of Qatar and high-ranking Egyptian officials in the next few days, after which he and Netanyahu will discuss steps toward facilitating the negotiating process, including sending delegations to engage in further talks.

Earlier, advisor to the Qatari PM and Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari said that, as agreed with the mediators, Netanyahu was to send a negotiating team to Doha on February 3 to discuss the details of the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal but decided not to do so until after his upcoming meeting with Trump.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect on January 19. On the same day, the Palestinian radical group released the first three Israeli women. During the first 42-day phase of the deal, Hamas will release at least 33 hostages in exchange for Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Russian national Alexander Trufanov, who is also an Israeli citizen, is among the 33 hostages to be released by Hamas.