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Hamas officials said Tuesday that they’ve begun talks with international mediators over the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza that began last month.
The accord mapped out three phases of negotiations to end the 15-month war. The first, which began Jan. 19, halted fighting, expanded the amount of humanitarian aid let into Gaza and exchanged Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict.
Yet international mediators left questions for later negotiations about further hostage and prisoner releases, an indefinite extension of the truce and who will govern Gaza after hostilities end.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Egypt, Qatar and the United States are mediating the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas.
