Sa’ar: Israel open to phase 2 talks in exchange for release of hostages, US ‘accepts and understands’ decision to halt Gaza aid

Israel is willing to engage in negotiations on phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas in exchange for the release of hostages, says Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, after the Prime Minister’s Office announced it was barring the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israel is “prepared to continue negotiations, including on phase two, according to our principles, in exchange for the release of hostages,” Sa’ar says in a Jerusalem press conference.

Referring to the suspension of aid going into the Strip, Sa’ar says the US “accepts our stance and recognizes it.”

“Israel is implementing the principle of ‘no free meals,” the foreign minister says.

Israel is unwilling to negotiate a second phase of the ceasefire “for free” without Hamas agreeing to continue the release of Israel’s remaining captives in Gaza, says Sa’ar.

He says that a side letter from the previous US administration specified that there would be no automatic transition between phases of the deal, and since the first phase ended over the weekend, Israel is therefore not required to allow aid in.

“Negotiations without the release of hostages… is not something we accept,” he stresses.

For now, he says, Israel is insisting on a 50-day extension of the first phase of the ceasefire, a proposal Israel says was put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement earlier today warning that Hamas will face “further consequences” should the terror group not relent, Sa’ar says, “You saw the first [consequence] today,” and that “you will see what will be the further consequences.”

The foreign minister additionally claims that Israel has met all commitments to the ceasefire “until the very last day.”

However, the agreement stated that talks on phase 2 of the deal would begin “no later than day 16.” Israel has not engaged in indirect talks with Hamas on the second phase of the agreement.

Additionally, the IDF didn’t start withdrawing its forces from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border yesterday, despite the deal requiring Israel to start this process on day 42.

Asked how Israel would respond if Gazans face starvation as a result of barring the entrance of aid trucks, Sa’ar calls the starvation of Gazans “a lie during this whole war,” and that “we saw that when our hostages were released, the terrorists and the crowd looked perfectly fine. The only ones that looked that they were starved were our hostages.”