Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that he was prepared to raise the pressure and would not rule out cutting off all electricity to Gaza if Hamas didn’t budge on its demands in talks to free the hostages and end the war.

The first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal that went into effect on January 19 saw an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, after more than a year of fighting sparked by the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

Talks regarding the terms of a second phase were supposed to have begun on February 3, but Israel has effectively refused to engage in them, as phase two would require Israel to withdraw fully from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining living hostages.

Talks, including unprecedented direct discussions between the US and Hamas, have continued on alternative frameworks that would see a temporary extension of the ceasefire in exchange for a limited hostage release. Israel will send a delegation to Doha on Monday for the talks, Netanyahu said Sunday.