Negotiations on next phase of Gaza ceasefire start Monday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will begin talks on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire when he meets US President Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Monday in Washington, according to Netanyahu's office late on Saturday.

Netanyahu is set to leave Israel on Sunday for Washington, where he will meet Trump at the White House next week to discuss the situation in Gaza and Israeli hostages held there, reports Reuters.

During his meeting with Witkoff, Netanyahu will discuss Israel's positions in respect to the ceasefire, the prime minister's office said. Witkoff will then speak with officials from Egypt and Qatar, who have mediated between Israel and Hamas over the past 15 months with backing from Washington.

Israel and Hamas last month reached a complex ceasefire agreement, to be implemented in three phases, that has halted the fighting in Gaza. Hamas has so far released 18 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians that are held in Israeli prisons and detentions.

Meanwhile, three Israeli hostages held by Hamas since 7 October 2023 were freed Saturday in the fourth release of hostages since the start of the ceasefire deal on January 19.

Israel later released 183 Palestinian prisoners from jails, who were met by jubilant crowds in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.