Anxiety in Gaza and Israel whenever they approach the end of the first stage

As the hour decreased in the first stage of the ceasefire in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent an Israeli delegation to Cairo on Thursday to hold other talks on the extension of the truce.

But although the initial stage of the truce was appointed on Saturday night, Israel and Hamas have made great progress in filming conditions for a comprehensive ceasefire. On Thursday, it was not clear whether the Israeli delegation was playing for time or had a serious mandate to fill the gaps between the two sides.

The uncertainty has left both the Israelis and the Palestinians to forget about the fate of more hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and whether the fighting could restart it soon.

“Our only hope is that the ceasefire will continue,” said Damekh Al-DIBS, 36-year-old who lives in a school that has turned to school since his house was destroyed in northern Gaza.

Currently, the first stage of six weeks of the ceasefire was appointed without a clear framework to solve it. This does not necessarily mean an immediate return to war: The agreement says that the truce can continue as long as negotiators are working on the following steps. But it makes the fragile deal already more dangerous.

Israeli government officials have not provided details about the delegation’s trip to Cairo, and the deal will be required to address many thorny issues more than hostage and prisoners, such as a permanent end of war and the rebuilding of Gaza.

Under the conditions of the interim agreement, Israel will actually announce its war against Hamas to secure the issuance of about twenty hostages believed to be alive.

For Israeli prisoners’ families, the possibility of their loved ones is closer to ever and painfully far. They are well aware that the tremendous obstacles are still to secure their freedom due to the lack of agreement on the future of the deal.

“By Sunday, we will be in the land of any man,” said Ada Alexander, who held his American -Israeli son, Adan Alexander, in Gaza for more than 500 days. “It has left it blurred, and it is still blurry,” he said about this element from the ceasefire agreement.

Israel and Hamas did not expect the immediate end of the war in mid -January. Instead, they adhered to Multiple complex plan It aims to slowly build momentum towards a comprehensive ceasefire after more than a year of destructive fighting in Gaza.

The first stage was intended to stop the fighting while the two sides were removed from a larger settlement.

Hamas released 30 Israeli and foreign hostages and handed over the bodies of eight others, in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians, who were imprisoned by Israel. It was a rocky process, including Transfer of hostages similar to Israel was described as insulting, which has almost deviated from the entire deal.

Israel and enthusiasm remain far as they have always been on their basic demands.

Israel has pledged that it would not end the war permanently until Hamas no longer controlled Gaza and the weapon is removed. Hamas mostly refused to think about dissolving its armed battalions or sending its leaders to exile.

Steve Whittov, President Trump’s envoy in the Middle East, put forward the idea of ​​extending the first stage by continuing to swap the hostages for prisoners.

On Thursday, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al -Qano said that the group was open to extend the first stage as long as it did not require abandoning Hamas’s basic demands, including the end of the war and the withdrawal of the full Israeli forces. He said that Israel had been feet to open negotiations for the second stage.

Mr. Netanyahu faces great pressure from within his government not to end the war categorically. His political allies say they want to continue fighting Hamas Building Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel is scheduled to start withdrawing the forces from the Gaza border with Egypt during the weekend. But Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he is looking at Israeli control of the region as a basic security interest.

Both Israel and Hamas have reasons to avoid the resumption of war.

Hamas wants to give its forces an opportunity to recover and start rebuilding Gaza. Israel wants to bring the remaining hostages home. Of approximately 250 during the Hamas -led Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the Israeli government believes that about 25 are still alive. Israel also wants to restore the bodies of approximately 30 others.

But the possibility of renewing the fighting has never disappeared. Many Israelis, especially on the right, say they cannot adhere to ending the war with Hamas who still rule Gaza. Currently, Hamas appears to have given a small ground on the question.

Mr. Alexander, whose son was kidnapped from an Israeli military position, said he was optimistic that the armistice could hold.

“No one wants to restart again – not Israel, not the United States. Certainly I don’t think Hamas wants it.”

But the Israeli government must “put the hostages at the forefront, allow this country to recover, and think about Hamas later.”

In the West Bank occupied by Israel, the Palestinians welcomed home prisoners by Israel as part of the agreement. Dozens were spending life provisions for their involvement in planning and carrying out hard -line attacks, including the bombings that killed Israeli civilians. Many others were detained during the Israeli land invading Gaza and was held without any official fees.

Some Palestinians were expelled abroad as part of the agreement and were not allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank. Their families hope to meet them in Egypt, but at least some say that Israel did not allow them to leave the West Bank in the meantime.

Alaa Abu Hamid, who was sentenced to his wife, Nasr, said for five life periods to carry out attacks against the Israelis during the second intifada, that she tried to travel to Jordan to see her liberated husband, only to go back by the Israeli authorities.

“Their dream of breathing has finally became true, at least partially,” she said. “But we still feel stuck in forgetting.”

Fatima Abdul Karahah The reports contributed.