Israel’s negotiating team set to return from Cairo; ‘Talks will continue tomorrow,’ official says

By ToI Staff and Agencies 28 February 2025, 5:50 pm

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Demonstrators raise placards and chant slogans during a protest calling for the release of hostages held captive in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian terrorists, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on February 22, 2025. (Jack Guez / AFP)

Israel’s negotiating team is expected to return from Cairo tonight, an official tells Hebrew-language media.

“Talks will continue tomorrow,” the official says, giving no further details.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal restarted in Cairo yesterday.

Two Egyptian security sources said earlier today that the Israeli delegation in Cairo is trying to reach a deal to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal for an additional 42 days. Hamas opposes the extension and insists on proceeding to the second phase of the deal as originally agreed, the sources said. The second phase is meant to include steps leading to a permanent end to the war.