Israel Seeks to Extend Gaza Ceasefire as Talks Stall

Israel is reportedly aiming to extend the first phase of its ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza, but is ready to resume fighting if crucial talks this week do not yield progress.

According to reports from Israel’s Kan Radio and Ma’ariv newspaper on Tuesday, informal negotiations are underway to prolong the initial 42-day ceasefire phase, set to expire on Saturday.

Official, internationally mediated talks on implementing the second phase — which would involve a full Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories — were meant to start weeks ago but have been delayed repeatedly as the fragile truce has faced multiple crises.

Extending the first phase would likely involve further hostage releases in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees, but Israeli officials remain doubtful about the feasibility of such an extension.

In Gaza, Palestinian medics reported the deaths of six infants from hypothermia over the past two weeks, as temperatures have plummeted. Dr. Ahmed al-Farah, head of the pediatric department at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, described receiving the body of a two-month-old girl on Tuesday.

Her father, Yusuf al-Shinbat, recalled that he had been playing with her just the day before. “She was a beautiful child like the moon,” he said.

Dr. Farah also reported treating two other infants for frostbite, one of whom was later discharged, while the other remained in intensive care. Additionally, Dr. Saeed Salah from the Patient’s Friends hospital in Gaza City stated that five infants, aged one month or younger, had died from the cold in the past two weeks.

He added that one child was placed on a ventilator, and all the infants had been sheltered in camps or schools-turned-shelters in northern Gaza. “There is no fuel, no electricity, no gas, no means of heating, and they and their families were exposed to extreme cold,” Salah explained.