Talks for the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza have begun in Egypt. 

According to a report published in Al Jazeera, the state information service of Egypt said that the Israeli officers would join from Qatar along with the mediators, and a few would join from the United States. 

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, may join the talks. The issues which will be discussed in the second phase, are the permanent end of the war and all the captives to be released by Hamas. 

Hamas will ask Israel to withdraw its troops from the territory. 

As per Israel, there are 59 hostages with Hamas, and out of them, 29 are still believed to be alive. 

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is not very hopeful as he asserted that the nation will examine the conditions for negotiations. 

Meanwhile, Israel authorities released 643 imprisoned Palestinian terrorists as part of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli Prison Service confirmed on Thursday.

Since January 19, Israel has freed 1,778 Palestinians in exchange for 33 hostages.

The completion of Wednesday night’s exchange marks the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The fate of the remaining 59 hostages is to be determined by negotiations. Critics say the phased approach condemns them to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.