Hamas says expects talks on Gaza truce phase two to begin 'early next week'

Hamas expects indirect negotiations with Israel for the second phase of an ongoing truce in Gaza to begin "early next week", an official of the Palestinian group said Friday."We expect the second phase of the ceasefire negotiations to begin early next week, and mediators are continuing discussions on this matter," Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said.Another source familiar with the talks told AFP that "mediators informed Hamas that they hope to start the second phase of negotiations next week in Doha".Under the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US — which came into effect on Jan 19 — negotiations for the second phase were due to start on Feb 3.The 42-day phase one revolves around the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for around 1,900 prisoners, most of them Palestinian, being held in Israeli jails.The second phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining hostages and include discussions on a more permanent end to the war.Hamas has said repeatedly that it is prepared to begin the second phase of negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the departure of a negotiating team to Doha on Feb 8 to discuss technical details of the ongoing agreement but it was not mandated to discuss phase two.Meanwhile, three Israeli men, all dual nationals who have been held hostage by Hamas since Oct 7, 2023, are set for release Saturday.Hamas said Israel was expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange.Israeli authorities confirmed Friday that Sasha Trupanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Yair Horn are due for release under a ceasefire deal with Palestinian group Hamas.Sixteen Israeli hostages have so far been released under the truce deal in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody. Five Thai captives have been freed outside the scope of the accord.The hostage-prisoner exchange scheduled for Saturday would be the sixth swap since the ceasefire began, halting more than 15 months of fighting.