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9 Mar, 09:11

Israel, Hamas have not agreed on Ramadan ceasefire — portal

Al Arabiya said earlier citing sources that an agreement had been allegedly reached by Israel and Hamas to extend the Gaza ceasefire deal through Ramadan

TEL AVIV, March 9. /TASS/. Israel and the Palestinian radical movement of Hamas have not entered into an agreement on temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Israeli Ynet news portal said citing sources.

"Contrary to statements made by Arab media, there is no agreement between Israel and Hamas on temporary ceasefire during Ramadan," a source familiar with details of the talks on peaceful settlement in the Palestinian enclave told the portal.

Al Arabiya said earlier citing sources that an agreement had been allegedly reached by Israel and Hamas to extend the Gaza ceasefire deal through Ramadan.

In mid-January, Egypt, Qatar and the US brokered an agreement between Israel and Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza and declare a ceasefire in the enclave. The truce took effect on January 19. The first phase of the deal ended on March 1. All the living Israeli hostages and the bodies of those deceased that were supposed to be handed over in the first stage were returned to Israel. In exchange, Israel released over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners.

On March 2, Israel suspended humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and closed all checkpoints, citing Hamas’s refusal to accept US Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s plan to continue Gaza ceasefire talks.