Israel will adopt a proposal for an extension to the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, the office of the Israeli prime minister has announced.
The plan by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was for an extension lasting for the periods of Ramadan and Passover.
The holy month of Ramadan started on Friday and is usually between 29 and 30 days. Pictures emerged from Gaza of Palestinians celebrating among the rubble.
The Jewish holiday of Passover is shorter, but this year finishes on Sunday 20 April.
The announcement came just after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired on Saturday.
Phase one halted 15 months of fighting and saw the release of 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and five Thai nationals, in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The extension would push back phase two of the ceasefire, which was intended to introduce talks to bring about a permanent end to the war.
Hamas said earlier on Saturday the group rejected Israel’s “formulation” of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, but did not explicitly mention Mr Witkoff’s plan.
It isn’t clear what Hamas’s response to this plan is yet.
Both sides have previously traded accusations that the other violated the fragile ceasefire.
Meanwhile, talks on the long-term future of Gaza are yet to seriously materialise after the UN said it would take decades to rebuild the enclave.
Palestinians gather among the rubble for iftar, the fast-breaking meal, on the first day of Ramadan in Rafah, in the south of the enclave.
Pic: AP/Abdel Kareem Hana
Israeli statement
A statement from the prime minister’s office originally published in Hebrew said that on the first day of the proposed extension, half of the hostages and bodies of the dead would be released.
It added that at the end, if an agreement on a permanent ceasefire was reached, the remaining hostages and bodies would also be released.
The statement added: “Witkoff proposed the outline for extending the ceasefire after he was impressed that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that additional time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire.”
It went on to add that Israel could return to fighting “after the 42nd day if it feels that the negotiations are ineffective”, pointing out that this was supported by the Trump administration.
It isn’t clear what dates these days correspond to.
Contention over the extension
Two Palestinian officials familiar with the negotiations told Reuters that Israel refused to enter phase two of the agreement or start negotiations about it.
Instead, they said that Israel requested an extension of the first phase, conditioned on the handover of a number of hostages and bodies for each week of the extension.
Hamas however, Reuters reported, rejected this and insisted on sticking to the original agreement and entering into the second phase, as was previously agreed.
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Before the most recent statement, an Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire talks said Hamas, Qatar and Egypt wanted to continue with the existing ceasefire deal, according to The Associated Press.
It added that they rejected Israel’s proposal to extend the ceasefire for four weeks, with hostage releases, without officially entering the second phase.
This story originally appeared on Skynews
