Heavy construction equipment said to begin rolling into Gaza
Mobile homes also expected to be delivered to enclave as demanded by Hamas; FM Sa’ar says talks for second stage of ceasefire to start this week
Heavy construction equipment was said to begin entering the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in a step toward bolstering the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Egypt’s Al-Ghad TV reported that the equipment crossed from Egypt into Gaza through the Rafah crossing.
The entry of mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza has been a sticking point, with the terror group last week threatening to halt the release of hostages under the ceasefire deal unless the items were allowed in.
The report came as Tuesday statements from Israeli and Hamas officials said six living Israeli hostages will be released on Saturday from Hamas captivity in Gaza. The six are all the remaining living captives set to go free in the ongoing first phase of the deal with the terror group.
Israel will allow mobile homes and heavy construction equipment into Gaza in a controlled manner as it seeks to expedite the release of the six living hostages, a senior Israeli official said earlier.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making immense efforts to secure the release of the six living hostages that remain as part of phase one [of the hostage-ceasefire deal], and also four hostages who are not alive,” the official said.
“Under the agreement, Israel agreed to allow mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza after stringent inspections. In accordance with the negotiations and on condition Hamas upholds the agreement, Israel will begin allowing this in a controlled and phased way.”
Hamas is set to release four bodies on Thursday.
According to reports, the ceasefire and hostage release agreement explicitly states that supplies and equipment can be brought into Gaza to establish at least 60,000 temporary living facilities. The details of the deal have not been published in full. Hamas has also said it wants hundreds of heavy construction machines while alleging that only a handful have arrived so far.
Earlier this week Netanyahu reportedly refused to approve the entry of mobile homes and heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip.
A political official told the Kan public broadcaster that during a security consultation chaired by the prime minister “it was decided that the issue of caravans will be discussed in the coming days. Israel is fully coordinating with the United States.”
The three-stage ceasefire agreement, reached last month, halted some 15 months of fighting triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
The deal requires the terror group to release all its hostages and Israel to release thousands of Palestinian security prisoners — including hundreds serving life sentences — and halt the fighting in the Strip, followed by negotiations for a “sustainable calm” and IDF withdrawal from the enclave.
Of the 33 hostages set to be freed under phase one of the deal, 19 have already been released and Israel says eight are dead. That leaves just six living hostages slated for release in the current stage.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Tuesday Israel will in the coming days begin negotiations on the second phase of the deal, including an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages for Palestinian security prisoners, while adding that Israel demands a complete demilitarization of the enclave.
“We had a security cabinet meeting last night. We decided to open negotiations on the second phase. It will happen this week,” he said of the talks, which were originally supposed to start on February 3.
“We will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza,” Saar said.
But he noted that if the negotiations are constructive, Israel will remain engaged and may prolong the first phase of the ceasefire, which is meant to last six weeks.
Israel had given mixed signals in the past few weeks over its engagement in the talks over the next stage of the three-phased ceasefire, which came into effect on January 19 with the stated goal of permanently ending the Gaza war.
The ceasefire deal has remained on track despite a series of setbacks and accusations of violations that had threatened to derail it.
But negotiations over the second stage are expected to be tough because they include issues like the administration of postwar Gaza, on which large gaps between the sides appear to persist.
