The handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Wednesday, February 26, and the subsequent release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners, sealed the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The question of a transition to the second phase now arises. It is intended to lead to further exchanges of captives and a total withdrawal of Israeli forces deployed in the enclave. In an interview with Le Monde, Majed Al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, one of the three guarantor states of the agreement along with the US and Egypt, expressed his pessimism.
Negotiations were due to start on the 16th day of the first phase (early February), in accordance with the agreement signed by both parties. But these discussions have not begun. We have not yet received an Israeli delegation or an official response from Israel concerning the launch of this new phase. We are approaching the 42nd day, the last day of the first phase, and we fear that the parameters of the agreement will no longer be respected. This means that the agreement could collapse at any moment. We are working closely with the Trump administration to avoid this.
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