Pressure mounts over extending Gaza ceasefire as Israeli forces withdraw from key corridor

Shock over freed emaciated hostages renewed pressure on PM Netanyahu to extend the truce beyond the first phase ending 2 weeks from now

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A displaced Palestinian man inspects the damage to his home in Gaza City on Sunday, after crossing the Netzarim corridor from southern Gaza into the enclave’s north. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:20pm, 9 Feb 2025Updated: 3:40am, 10 Feb 2025

Israeli forces withdrew from a key corridor in Gaza on Sunday in the latest commitment under a tenuous ceasefire, while shock over freed emaciated hostages renewed pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the truce beyond the first phase ending three weeks from now.

Talks on the second phase, meant to see more hostages released and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, were expected to start on February 3. But Israel and Hamas appear to have made little progress.

Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator, but it included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it will not lead to a breakthrough. Netanyahu, who returned to Israel after a visit to the United States to meet President Donald Trump, is expected to convene security cabinet ministers on Tuesday.

Families of the remaining hostages warned that time is running out for those still alive.

“We cannot let the hostages remain there. There is no other way. I am appealing to the cabinet,” said Ella Ben Ami, a daughter of a hostage released on Saturday, adding she now understands the toll of captivity is much worse than imagined.

The father of a current hostage, Kobi Ohel, told Israel’s Channel 13 the newly released men said his son, Alon, and others “live off half a pita to a full pita a day. These are not human conditions”. Ohel’s mother, Idit, sobbed as she told Channel 12 her son has been in chains for over a year.