Israel agrees to Gaza ceasefire extension after phase one period expires

Israel will adopt a proposal by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy for an extension to the ceasefire in Gaza, the office of the Israeli prime minister has announced.

The plan by Steve Witkoff was for an extension lasting for the periods of Ramadan and Passover.

The holy month of Ramadan started on Friday and is usually between 29 and 30 days. The Jewish holiday of Passover is shorter but this year finishes on Sunday 20 April.

It came just after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire was set to expire on Saturday.

Phase one saw the release of 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and five Thai nationals, in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The extension would push back phase two of the ceasefire, which was intended to introduce talks to bring about a permanent end to the war.

Hamas said earlier on Saturday the group rejected Israel's "formulation" of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, but did not explicitly mention Mr Witkoff's plan.

It isn't clear what Hamas's response to this plan is yet.

Both sides have previously traded accusations that the other violated the fragile ceasefire.

Israeli statement

A statement from the prime minister's office originally published in Hebrew said: "After a security discussion chaired by Prime Minister Netanyahu and with the participation of the Minister of Defence, senior defence officials, and the negotiating team, it was decided:

"Israel adopts the outline of the US President's envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire for the Ramadan and Passover periods.

"On the first day of the outline, half of the hostages, both alive and dead, will be released, and at the end - if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire - the remaining hostages, both alive and dead, will be released.

"Witkoff proposed the outline for extending the ceasefire after he was impressed that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that additional time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire.

"While Hamas has repeatedly violated the agreement, Israel is not in violation. According to the agreement, Israel can return to fighting after the 42nd day if it feels that the negotiations are ineffective. This clause was supported by a side letter from the previous US administration and has also received the support of the Trump administration.

"While Israel agreed to the Witkoff outline with the aim of returning our abductees, Hamas has so far stuck to its refusal to accept this outline.

"If Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan."

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