Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 16, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 16, 2025
PM denies Rubio, Witkoff pressured Israel to send delegation to phase 2 talks
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
The Prime Minister’s Office denies a Channel 12 report that it took pressure from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff to convince Benjamin Netanyahu to send a team to Cairo tomorrow to discuss the second phase of the Gaza hostage release/ceasefire deal with Hamas.
“The conversation on the second phase deals with the ‘day after,'” says the PMO, “and it will be led by the political echelon.”
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