Hamas has said that talks with mediators are ongoing 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 Anadolu on Thursday.
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 advancing other parts of the agreement as “a violation and contradiction” of the plan announced by US 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 plan included the release of Israeli captives, Hamas disarmament, a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the formation of a technocratic government, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.
The first phase of the plan entered into force on October 10, 2025.
Israel accused of violations
Qassem said Hamas had adhered to the requirements of the first phase, while accusing Israel of failing to fulfil its commitments and continuing attacks that killed 846 Palestinians and injured 2,418 others, according to Palestinian figures.
Despite the violations, Trump announced in mid-January the start of the second phase under the plan, which was endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution issued on November 17, 2025.
The second phase includes a broader Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction efforts, and the beginning of disarmament talks involving Palestinian factions.
Qassem also accused Israel of expanding the so-called “yellow line” buffer zone deeper into Gaza, saying it was “moving westward and seizing more land in favour of the Israeli presence inside the enclave.”
He said the move contradicts maps “published by the US president himself” and results in “displacement, bombardment, killings and destruction on a daily basis.”
Qassem called on mediators to “take a real position to stop these violations and compel the occupation to implement the agreement.”
Strike aimed at negotiators
The Hamas spokesperson also said Israel’s targeting of Azzam al-Hayya, the son of senior Hamas leader 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 policies “will not succeed in extracting any political concessions from the resistance leadership or Hamas.”
Azzam al-Hayya died on Thursday from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike on Wednesday targeting the Al-Daraj neighbourhood east of Gaza City, according to Palestinian sources.
