Gaza ceasefire in doubt as first phase expires with no further negotiations underway

The six-week ceasefire in Gaza expired Saturday with no talks underway for the second phase, Hamas said, accusing Israel of “evading the commitment to end the war and withdraw completely from Gaza.”

“There are no negotiations” regarding the second phase, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Al-Araby TV on Saturday, adding that Israel’s proposal to extend the first phase “is unacceptable to us.”

Israel has not separately confirmed the latest developments in its negotiations with Hamas, and did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

Talks on the second phase were set to begin weeks ago. In January, during the initial announcement of the agreement, then-President Joe Biden said the ceasefire would continue even after six weeks “as long as the negotiations continue.”

The second phase of the ceasefire would have seen the release of additional hostages and prisoners, mark the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and ultimately lead to a permanent end to the war.

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar — the three countries that helped mediate the deal — continue to act as guarantors of the agreement.

Amid concerns around the truce, the Pentagon said Friday that the U.S. State Department had approved the potential sale of nearly $3 billion worth of bombs and other weaponry to Israel on an emergency basis. The sale marked the second time the Trump administration declared an emergency to approve weapons sales to Israel since last month.

The fragile ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on Jan. 19, halted months of fighting and allowed the exchange of 33 Israeli and five Thai hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Under the agreement, Israeli forces were due to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on Saturday, a provision that has remained a major sticking point in the ceasefire negotiations.

Israel earlier said it would not allow Hamas to take over the corridor.

“We will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor. We will not allow Hamas murderers to roam our borders again with trucks and rifles, and we will not let them rearm through smuggling,” an Israeli official told NBC News on Thursday, referring to the weapons and other materials that entered Gaza over the Egyptian border.

The narrow strip of land that runs along Gaza’s border with Egypt and includes the key Rafah border crossing has also been a lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza — allowing the entry of goods and humanitarian aid in the years before the war.

Another major sticking point is Hamas’ continued presence in Gaza. On Thursday, Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told NBC News that the militant group would be willing to cede political and administrative power in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian unity government, but would not disarm until an independent Palestinian state is achieved.

Naim added that the group was also preparing for renewed fighting. “If they decide to escalate and to return back to war, we are preparing ourselves for all options,” he said.

For now, the situation in the Gaza Strip has remained calm, according to NBC News’ crew on the ground.

Footage from Friday captured Palestinians preparing for Ramadan as children gathered in the rubble-filled streets in Khan Younis to watch adults hang decorations and Palestinian flags beside the ruins of destroyed homes.

Rehan Hazaam Shorab, a 30-year-old mother of two, made paper lanterns out of cardboard boxes from humanitarian aid packages.

“The war has created a psychological state for us. I try to overcome the experiences I lived by working, channeling the negative energy into my work,” she said, adding, “I am worried that the war will resume. It was the worst day of our lives.”

The Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war saw about 1,200 people killed and 251 captured, according to Israeli officials.

Israel’s ensuing military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the local Health Ministry, destroyed much of the enclave, and forcibly displaced most of its population of 2.3 million.