​​​​​​​JERUSALEM

US Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff began talks Tuesday in Qatar to push for progress on releasing Israeli hostages amid a proposal by Tel Aviv to extend a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip for 60 days, Israel’s state-run broadcaster reported.

The first 42-day phase of a three-phase ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, each of equal length, between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US, ended March 1 after they started on Jan. 19.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sidestepped the second phase of the agreement, seeking the release of more Israeli captives without fulfilling commitments to end the genocide and fully withdraw from Gaza.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN stated that Witkoff’s discussions are aimed to “move the parties toward understandings on releasing the captives.”

Israel estimates that 59 Israeli hostages are in Gaza, with 24 still alive, while more than 9,500 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, suffering torture, deprivation and medical neglect, which has led to the deaths of many, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights reports.

The Israeli proposal offers the release of 10 living Israeli captives on the first day in exchange for a roughly two-month ceasefire extension, the broadcaster reported.

Unnamed Israeli sources, however, expressed doubt that Hamas would accept the plan, the outlet added.

The Palestinian resistance group remains steadfast in demanding the start of the second phase, which includes a full Israeli withdrawal and the war's end. The group denounced Israel’s halt to humanitarian aid to Gaza since March 8 as “cheap blackmail, a war crime, and a blatant coup against the ceasefire agreement.”

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Qatar Egypt, and the US are trying to offer a “goodwill gesture” from Hamas to Israel, potentially in the form of a limited prisoner release within days.

Mediators want to secure a partial release to extend negotiations and avoid renewed fighting, it said.

“The goal is a partial release to gain more time for wider agreements, but there’s fear that without a deal, Israel will resume combat,” Channel 12 stated.

The outlet cited mediators delivering a message to Hamas: “This is your last chance to prevent Israel from resuming the war—everyone needs time, including you.”

The report added that Witkoff, who is in Doha, seeks a swift agreement benefiting both sides: more captive releases for Israel and a long-term ceasefire, prisoner releases, resumed humanitarian aid and steps toward Gaza’s reconstruction for Hamas.

Nearly 1.5 million of the 2.4 million residents in Gaza are homeless -- their homes destroyed amid deliberate shortages of food, water and medicine, according to Palestinian officials.

Earlier Tuesday, Hamas official Abdel Rahman Shadid announced a new round of talks, affirming the group’s “responsible and positive” stance and hope for “tangible progress” toward the second phase, including ending the aggression and Israeli withdrawal.

As of 1950GMT Tuesday, neither Hamas, Qatar nor Egypt had commented on the report by Channel 12 or a similar one from Israel’s public broadcaster.

More than 48,500 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in Israel’s brutal onslaught against Gaza since October 2023. The assault was paused under the ceasefire and prisoner swap deal.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.