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Hamas said on Thursday that negotiations with mediators are continuing over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel.
“There are ongoing discussions and contacts with mediators, especially our brothers in Egypt, to reach reasonable approaches regarding the general framework of the second phase of the agreement to stop the war,” Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
Qassem said Israel “continues to insist on raising issues such as Palestinian weapons before entering any of the other tracks, without providing any guarantees.”
He described Israel’s insistence on disarmament before moving forward with other parts of the agreement as “a violation and contradiction” of the plan announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“This proposal aligns with the Israeli position and aims to sabotage the existing agreement,” Qassem said, stressing that “what is required is implementing the first phase according to the agreement and then entering discussions related to the second phase.”
In September 2025, Trump announced a 20-point plan aimed at ending the Gaza war. The proposal included the release of Israeli captives, Hamas disarmament, a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of a technocratic government and the deployment of an international stabilization force.
The first phase of the plan entered into force on Oct. 10, 2025.
Despite ongoing tensions, Trump announced in mid-January the launch of the second phase under the framework endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted on Nov. 17, 2025.
The second phase includes a broader Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction efforts and talks involving Palestinian factions on disarmament.
Qassem said Hamas had complied with the requirements of the first phase while accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations.
According to figures cited by Hamas, Israeli attacks have killed 846 Palestinians and wounded 2,418 since the ceasefire phase began.
He also accused Israel of expanding the so-called “yellow-line” buffer zone deeper into Gaza.
“The occupation is moving westward and seizing more land in favor of the Israeli presence inside the Strip,” he said.
Qassem argued that the expansion contradicts maps “published by the U.S. president himself” and has led to “displacement, bombardment, killings and destruction on a daily basis.”
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He called on mediators to “take a real position to stop the violations and compel the occupation to implement the agreement.”
Qassem also said Israel’s targeting of Azzam al-Hayya, the son of senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, was intended to pressure the movement’s negotiating delegation in Cairo.
“Azzam al-Hayya becoming the fourth son of Khalil al-Hayya to be killed is part of the occupation’s crimes against our Palestinian people for more than two years,” he said.
Qassem added that such actions “will not succeed in extracting any political concessions from the resistance leadership or Hamas.”
Palestinian sources said Azzam al-Hayya died on Thursday from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike on Wednesday targeting the Al-Daraj neighborhood east of Gaza City.
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