Hamas says Israel is pushing things back to ‘square one’

CAIRO: Hamas said on Monday that Israel is trying to push things back to square one by asking to extend the first phase of their Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday it had adopted a proposal by US President Donald Trump’s envoy for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed deal expired.

Phase one of Israel-Hamas truce due to expire

“The occupation is pushing to return things to square one and overturn the agreement through the alternatives it is proposing,” senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in a televised statement.