The US Messenger in Qatar to join conversations to extend the ceasefire

White House Messenger Steve Vikof is in Qatar to join the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to expand the fragile cessation of fire in Gaza.

This week, negotiators from both sides have begun to meet with mediators for the first time since President Donald Trump took office on January 20. The 42-day first phase of the transaction and a temporary truce came into force on the eve of his taking office.

This first phase eventually saw Hamas return 25 Living Israeli hostages and the remains of eight others – in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel – as well as five living Thai hostages. It ended on March 1st.

Israel now hopes that the United States can develop a plan for a two -month extension of the truce, which will begin with the release of about half of the living hostages still being held.

So far, Hamas has rejected this, requiring immediate conversations of the second phase in the original fire termination agreement, which will end the war and lead to the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops.

However, he said he was approaching continuing discussions in Doha with “full responsibility and positivity”.

Since the beginning of this month, Israel blocks all supplies to help – including food and fuel – to gasSaying that it aims to put pressure on Hamas.

Electricity is also cut into the only desalination plant in the territory providing clean waterSo it now works with reduced generators capacity using fuel reserves.

In response, Huti’s movement in Yemen said on Tuesday that he would restart the attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, threatening to again throw a key sea route into chaos.

The increasing anxiety of Israel’s potential impact is blocking goods to Gaza, with some allies warning him that this may violate international law.

The local UN humanitarian humanitarian coordinator, Muhanad Hadi, said: “Any additional delays (upon entry to help) will further turn any progress we have been able to make during the end of fire.”

“We are praying for these questions to be resolved urgently,” BBC, HULBAR, HUSU Rustom said under the BBC.

With the suspension of flour and cooking supplies, he said that his bakery – which provided over 2000 packs of bread a day – was forced to close, as well as several others in the southern town of Han Einnis.

“We are exhausted and tired of all this. It drives us crazy,” says Zayenab Al Bayuk, Grandma. She added that food prices are rising rapidly.

Mariam Abu Muhmer, a student, opposed the expansion of the existing truce. “There must be a solution that ends the war,” she said. “It’s enough!”

The US has never confirmed it, but on March 2 on March 2, Israel Benjamin Netanyahu said that Vitcof had proposed a temporary extension of the cessation of fire only after the Islamic sacred month of Ramadan and the Jewish Feast of Passha.

According to this plan, which Netanyahu stated that Israel accepted, half of the hostages would be released together at the beginning and the other half at the end.

The prime minister suggested that Vikof “even described his proposal as a second -stage negotiation corridor. Israel is ready for this. “

Hamas is thought to still hold up to 24 living hostages in Gaza and the remains of 35 others. An American-Israeli soldier, 21-year-old Edan Alexander, is among those who are said to be alive. There are also the bodies of four other American citizens.

Hamas accused Israel of renewing the initial transaction to end the fire.

Despite the pressure of regional mediators – Qatar and Egypt – like the United States, it is believed that the armed group is unlikely to abandon many hostages without a full end of Gaza fight. He sees them as his main talks in conversations.

For the relatives and supporters of the Israelis held in captivity, these are desperate times.

As of Saturday, some of them are on a campsite outside the Tel Aviv Defense Ministry to request an immediate transaction to end the Gaza Fire to release everyone in captivity.

“How can I start processing our personal tragedy when the national trauma is not over yet?” Said Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas, the protest on Monday night.

Recent exchanges with Hamas led to the release of her brother and The return of the bodies of her daughter -in -law Shiri and two young nephews, Ariel and Kfir who were killed in GazaS

“I have 59 siblings who are in hell,” the Office continued – referring to the total remaining hostage. “We received Yarden Alive, but the width and the children could be saved. With Easter, everyone must be home and the only way to bring everyone back is to end the war. Now.”

A poll for channel 13 of Israel shows that half of Israelis believe the US president is more concerned about the fate of the hostages than in Netanyahu.

Asked which of the two think he was more concerned, 50% of the respondents said that Trump, 29% Netanyahu, and the others are not sure.

The Prime Minister’s ultimate right allies have threatened to collapse their ruling coalition if the struggle does not resume in gas to achieve his goal in the war to crush Hamas.

So far, Israel and Hamas have largely refrained from returning to all the hostilities in the Palestinian territory.

Recently, however, Israel made daily blows. On Tuesday, four men were killed in Vadi Gaza, who is also known as the Netzarim Corridor, an area from which the Israeli forces withdrew as part of the conditions for the cessation of Gaza’s fire.

The Israeli military said the Air Force has focused on “several terrorists engaged in suspicious activity, which are a threat to the (Israeli) troops.”

Speaking to the BBC in Gaza, the father of one of the killed, Arafat Hannah, said his son Omar had done nothing wrong.

He said he was with neighbors walking to the displaced folk camp, where they had previously remained to extract things.

“They were innocent. They would just get mattresses and other things. They didn’t carry rockets!” said Umm Tareq Obaid, who lived close to men.

The new Hutis threats have the potential to end a period of relative calm in the broader region, which began with the termination of Gaza’s fire on January 19th.

Over 15 months since November 2023, they used rockets and drones to attack more than 100 merchant ships, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. Many ships had no connection with Israel. Two sank, one was seized and four sailors were killed.

The Hutists say they now want to “put pressure on the Israeli usurper formation to open the transition to the Gaza Strip and to allow help from the entry, including food and medical supplies.”

However, there are no immediate signs of targeted ships.

The Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel, mainly civilians, with 251 hostages taken. Most women and children held captive were released during a one -week truce in November 2023.

An unprecedented, deadly attack has caused a war in Gaza, which has since been killing more than 48,500 people, most of them civilians, according to figures of the Ministry of Health, ruled by Hamas, which are used by the UN and others.