Gaza, March 4: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called for the Israeli army to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and allow the State of Palestine to assume its duties.

In a press statement, the ministry called for real international measures “to curb the occupation’s aggression against our people and their rights in a way that ensures the establishment of a ceasefire and the rapid empowerment of the State of Palestine and its internationally recognized legitimate institutions to carry out their responsibilities and immediately extend their sovereignty over the Gaza Strip and the entire Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.”

Earlier on Saturday, the 42-day initial phase of the three-stage agreement between Hamas and Israel expired, with no breakthrough announced for its next phase, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel is seeking to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement for an additional 42 days, while Hamas rejects this and wants to move forward with negotiations for the second phase.

The second phase of the agreement is supposed to focus on the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the implementation of a permanent ceasefire.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli officials said that the military would not withdraw from the strategic strip along the Gaza-Egypt border despite a ceasefire agreement that calls for a pullout by Saturday.

Israel received the bodies of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, marking the final swap under the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire deal.

Three of the hostages were killed while in captivity, while the fourth died during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, according to the Prime Minister’s office. Forensic experts in Tel Aviv confirmed the identification of the four bodies after Hamas handed them over.

Tehran, March 3: Iranian Vice President Javad Zarif, who resigned Sunday night for the second time since his appointment in August last year, said on Monday that he took the decision on advice from the head of the country’s judiciary to help relieve pressure on the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Zarif wrote in a post on X on Monday that he had visited Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei on an invitation by Mohseni Ejei on Saturday. During the meeting, he said, Ejei had advised that given “the conditions of the country, I return to (teaching at) the university to avoid more pressure on the administration.”

Zarif said he took the advice immediately because he had always wanted to be “of help and not a burden”.

He said he hoped that by leaving the administration, those hindering the realization of “the people’s will and the success of the administration” would be stripped of excuses.

“I continue to be proud of having supported the venerable Dr. Pezeshkian and wish him and other true servants of the people the best,” he said, the official news agency IRNA reported Monday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has received Zarif’s resignation letter, is yet to respond on the matter.

“Since he was tapped as the Vice President, Zarif has been taking intense heat from a group of lawmakers in Parliament who have argued that his appointment to a sensitive post is illegal because at least one of his children holds US nationality. According to Iranian law, individuals who hold foreign citizenship or whose immediate family members hold such citizenship cannot be assigned to sensitive posts in the Iranian government,” IRNA reported.

Iran’s Fars news agency reported that a number of Iranian lawmakers had been following up on his “illegal” appointment to the post since the beginning of the administration’s term.

Pezeshkian appointed Zarif, a former foreign minister, as Vice President for strategic affairs and head of the Centre for Strategic Studies, in August 2024.

However, Zarif resigned 10 days after his appointment because he was “not satisfied with the result of his work” as head of the steering council that selected the new Iranian administration’s cabinet members.

He later withdrew his resignation after Pezeshkian’s “prudent” follow-ups and consultations.

Cairo, March 3: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reaffirmed the importance of fully and faithfully implementing the ongoing ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, stressing the necessity of transitioning to the second phase of the deal to ensure a lasting truce.

“Since the first phase has been completed, we should now begin discussions and consultations on the second phase. The ultimate goal is to sustain the ceasefire agreement,” Abdelatty said at a joint press conference in Cairo with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.

Abdelatty condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to stop the entry of aid to Gaza. He said that using aid as a weapon of collective punishment and starvation in Gaza is unacceptable and impermissible, affirming that this act represents a blatant and explicit violation of international humanitarian law, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Egyptian top diplomat emphasised that Egypt is actively coordinating with the US and Qatar, hosting delegations, and intensifying discussions to ensure the agreement’s implementation, maintain the ceasefire, and facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza.

“We continue our intensive efforts to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire and to initiate negotiations on the second phase,” he told reporters.

He also reiterated that the establishment of a Palestinian state is the only viable path to long-term security and stability in the region.

He emphasised Europe’s crucial role, both politically in maintaining regional peace and economically in supporting the upcoming reconstruction of Gaza.

Israel and Hamas have been implementing a ceasefire agreement since January 19, following more than 15 months of a deadly conflict in Gaza. The first phase of the ceasefire agreement ended on Saturday.

Hamas has said it was ready to open negotiations on the second phase, but Israel presented a new framework that would extend the first phase until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover, which ends on April 20, describing it as an outline of US envoy Steve Witkoff. Under the proposal, Hamas would free half the hostages on the first day, with the remaining captives freed at the end of the period if a permanent ceasefire is achieved.