STORY: “We are ready to continue to phase two…”

Israel’s foreign minister said on Tuesday his country was ready to proceed to the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal – as long as Hamas was ready to release more of the 59 hostages it is still holding.

Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January 19 under a truce arranged with U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

:: Hamas Armed Wing

In that time, Hamas has handed over 33 Israeli hostages for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.

But the initial 42-day truce has expired.

And Hamas and Israel remain far apart on broader issues including the postwar governance of Gaza and the future of Hamas itself.

Hamas says it wants to move ahead to the second phase negotiations that could open the way to a permanent end to the war with the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.

But Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said hostages must be handed over for the truce to be extended.

“We are ready to negotiate on phase two, and in the meantime we are ready to extend the framework of the temporary ceasefire, but we have only one condition: our hostages. We want to release hostages. If it is not agreed, it is not agreed.”

Israel proposed extending the truce through the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan until after the Jewish Passover holiday in April.

The U.S. State Department this week said President Donald Trump’s special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is due to visit the region in the next few days to discuss extending the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israel has blocked the entry of desperately-needed aid trucks into Gaza since the last phase of the truce expired.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by seizing supplies meant for civilians.

“Aid that goes to Hamas is not humanitarian. As I emphasized, it’s a tool, it’s a vehicle, it’s a means to continue the war against Israel…”

Aid groups have said that looting and wrongful seizure of aid trucks into Gaza has been a major problem but Hamas, the Islamist militant group that seized power in Gaza in 2007, denies seizing aid for its own members.