Sawt Falasteen - Netanyahu to begin talks on 2nd phase of Gaza truce

Netanyahu spoke with the US President's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday and agreed that negotiations would "begin when they meet in Washington".

A date for formal talks involving mediators and delegations from Hamas and Israel has not been set, with the 42-day first phase due to end next month.

Netanyahu's office said Witkoff would talk to Qatar and Egypt, key mediators, before discussing with the Israeli premier "steps to advance the negotiations, including dates for delegations to leave for talks".

The second phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and to include discussions on a more permanent end to the war, something several members of Netanyahu's government oppose.

- Hostages, prisoners released -

As part of the first phase, Hamas on Saturday freed three Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 180 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli custody.

Hostages Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas were paraded on stage by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. US-Israeli Keith Siegel was freed in a similar ceremony at Gaza City's port in the north.

The Israeli military later confirmed that all three were back in Israel.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum hailed their release as "a ray of light in the darkness".

"I hope that this is a sign of the rebirth of the people of Israel, not just of Ofer, not just of the hostages," Kalderon's uncle Shemi told AFP, overcome with emotion.

Later in the day, a bus carrying released Palestinian prisoners was greeted by a cheering crowd in the West Bank city of Ramallah, while three other buses were met by hundreds of well-wishers in Khan Yunis.

"I need a great deal of composure to control myself, to steady my nerves, to absorb this overwhelming moment," said one released prisoner, Ata Abdelghani, as he prepared to meet his now 10-year-old twin sons for the first time.

- 'Mixed emotions' -

After holding the hostages for more than 15 months, militants in Gaza began releasing them on January 19 under the terms of the ceasefire deal with Israel.

Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have so far handed over 18 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Israelis among them in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and children.

A total of 183 prisoners were freed Saturday, all of them Palestinian except for one Egyptian.

Hamas sources said a fifth hostage-prisoner exchange would take place next Saturday.

The ceasefire's six-week first phase hinges on the release of a total of 33 hostages in exchange for around 1,900 people, mostly Palestinians, held in Israeli jails.

During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which started the Gaza war, militants abducted Siegel from kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Bibas and Kalderon from kibbutz Nir Oz.

Militants took a total of 251 people hostage that day. Of those, 76 remain in Gaza, including at least 34 the military says are dead.

Those seized include Bibas's wife Shiri and their two children, whom Hamas has declared dead, although Israeli officials have not confirmed that.

Footage released by the Israeli military showed Bibas being reunited with his sister and father, who held him in a lengthy embrace.

In a statement issued via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the Bibas family said "a quarter of our heart has returned to us after 15 long months.

"But the home remains incomplete," the family said.

Israel's hostage coordinator, Gal Hirsch, said the government continued "to demand information" from the ceasefire's brokers about the rest of the Bibas family.

- Sighs of relief -

Hundreds had gathered in the Tel Aviv plaza dubbed "Hostage Square" to watch live television coverage of the latest releases.

At Tel Aviv's Sheba Hospital, Kalderon, a keen mountain biker, beamed and blew kisses as he was met by a contingent of cyclist friends chanting his name.

"It's amazing, amazing. A year-and-a-half is culminating in this moment," said Navit Hermesh. "We missed him so much, we worried about him so much, and we are so happy that he's coming back."

At Tel Aviv's Ichilov Medical Centre, deputy director Gil Fire said Siegel's health was good enough after his ordeal for him to have "spent his first few hours here in the greatest privacy with his family".

Ahead of the releases in Khan Yunis and Gaza City, scores of masked Hamas fighters stood guard in an apparent effort to prevent large crowds forming.

It was a sharp contrast to the chaotic scenes that accompanied Thursday's handover, which prompted Israel to briefly delay its release of Palestinian prisoners in protest.

- 'Difficult' situation -

After Saturday's hostage release, Gaza's key Rafah border crossing with Egypt was reopened, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory saying 50 Palestinian patients in need of specialist treatment had passed through.

Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News showed footage of the first evacuees, who included 30 children with cancer.

Gaza hospitals director Muhammad Zaqout said he hoped the numbers would increase.

Rafah was a vital entry point for aid before the Israeli military seized the Palestinian side of the crossing in May.

US President Donald Trump, who has claimed credit for the ceasefire deal, is expected to host Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday.

R.Shaban--SF-PST