GAZA CITY: A top Hamas official said that talks in Miami on Friday to advance the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire must aim to end Israeli truce “violations” in the Palestinian territory.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is to meet senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in Florida on Friday, amid fears that efforts to reach the second stage of the deal are stalling.
“Our people expect these talks to result in an agreement to put an end to ongoing Israeli lawlessness, halt all violations and compel the occupation to abide by the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement,” Hamas political bureau member, Bassem Naim, told AFP.
Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed.
But progress in moving to that phase of October’s agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was brokered by Washington and its regional allies, has so far been slow.
