YnetNews.com reports: “A Hamas official six Israeli hostages would be freed on Saturday. The official told Ynet that the decision depends on what price Israel was willing to pay. ‘Our demand now is that Israel enters phase two negotiations and commits to the humanitarian protocol including caravans and heavy machinery into the Strip.’ According to the official the commitment must come from the Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

But the security cabinet in its meeting late on Monday, decided to concentrate on completing the first phase of the cease-fire and hostage release deal and not to mandate the Israeli delegation to the negotiations to move toward the second phase because there is no agreement among ministers regarding an end to the war.

The delegation was given a ‘general mandate’ to prevent the first phase from being disrupted. Israel is seeking a weeks-long extension of the phase.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday at a press conference that negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza have not yet officially begun. ‘We will implement the terms of the first phase in order to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement,’ he said but added that there is a positive atmosphere regarding the second phase of the agreement…”