Hamas announced Tuesday evening the start of a new round of ceasefire negotiations in Gaza. The movement affirmed that it is acting "responsibly and positively" and hopes the round will result in "tangible progress toward the start of the second phase of negotiations to pave the way for an end to the aggression and the occupation's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."

This came in press statements given by movement leader Abdel Rahman Shadid, published by Hamas on its official digital platforms.

Shadid stated that the movement "began a new round of ceasefire negotiations today," without providing further details.

He explained that "Hamas is dealing responsibly and positively with these negotiations, including those with the US envoy for hostage affairs (Adam Boehler)."

Last week, Boehler met with senior Hamas officials in the Qatari capital, Doha, without Israel's knowledge, to discuss the release of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, including five Americans.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 59 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, 24 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 9,500 Palestinian prisoners languish in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

Shadid continued, "We hope this round will result in tangible progress toward launching the second phase of negotiations, paving the way for an end to the aggression, the occupation's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the completion of a prisoner exchange deal."

After Tel Aviv sent a negotiating delegation to Doha on Monday, the Qatari capital is hosting indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. This follows prolonged procrastination by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has refused to move to the second phase of the Gaza agreement, which is supposed to lead to an end to the war of extermination.

On March 1, 2025, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel concluded. The agreement, which began on January 19, was brokered by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States.

Netanyahu has shied away from initiating the second phase of the agreement, as he seeks to release more Israeli prisoners without fulfilling the commitments of this phase, particularly ending the war of extermination and fully withdrawing from Gaza.

Therefore, on March 8, Netanyahu claimed that Hamas was refusing to respond to a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire during Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. He justified this by using the internationally prohibited weapon of "starvation" by preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on March 2.

He strongly warned against Israeli plans in the West Bank, adding that Israel seeks to displace Palestinians, destroy cities, villages, and camps in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, and obliterate their historical and demographic identity "in pursuit of what is known as the Greater Jerusalem colonial project."

He said that Israel "recently planned to build 2,684 new settlement units, confirming the continuation of its settlement expansion policy, which poses a serious threat to the Palestinian presence in the West Bank."

He pointed out that "the occupation continues its widespread aggression on the city of Jenin and its camp for the fifty-first day, and continues its aggression on the city of Tulkarm and the Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps for the forty-third day, and is escalating its brutal raids on various cities, villages and camps in the West Bank during the holy month of Ramadan."

Since the start of its war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of 934 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 7,000 people, and the arrest of 14,500, according to official Palestinian data.

Since October 7, 2023, with US support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 160,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.