Israel and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas have not reached an agreement on a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the holy month of Ramadan, the Israeli news portal Ynet reported, citing its sources.
"Contrary to the claims of the Arab media, there is no agreement between Israel and Hamas on a temporary ceasefire for the period of Ramadan," said the portal's source familiar with the details of the peace talks in the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier, the Al Arabiya television channel, citing its sources, reported that an agreement had allegedly been reached between Israel and Hamas to extend the ceasefire until the end of the month of post.
On the night of March 2, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Jewish state had accepted the plan of US President's special envoy Stephen Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan (until March 29) and Passover (a Jewish holiday that will be celebrated from April 12 to 19).
On January 15, it became known that Israel and Hamas had agreed to release hostages held in Gaza and to introduce a ceasefire in the enclave. The agreement, which includes three stages, came into force on January 19, with the first stage ending on March 1. 33 Israeli hostages, including the eight who died, were returned to their homeland. In exchange, Israel released over 1,500 Palestinians from prison, some of whom had been expelled from the Palestinian territories.
On March 7, the Egyptian state news agency reported that senior Hamas officials had arrived in Cairo to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the start of negotiations on the second phase of the deal.