Tel Aviv [Israel], February 17 (ANI): Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed negotiators to depart for Cairo on Monday to discuss the continued implementation of the first stage of the deal.

Israel Prime Minister's Office said on Sunday that the decision has been taken in coordination with with US Presidential Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. According to the statement, the negotiation team will recieve instructions of the negotiations regarding the second stage following Security Cabinet discussion scheduled to take place on Monday.

In a statement shared on X, Israel's Prime Minister's Office stated, 'In coordination with US Presidential Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the negotiations team to leave for Cairo tomorrow in order to discuss the continued implementation of the first stage of the deal.'

In another post on X, it wrote, 'Following tomorrow's Security Cabinet discussion, the team will receive instructions for the continuation of the negotiations regarding the second stage.'

https://x.com/israelipm/status/1891171190871293978

Meanwhile, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that he and his US counterpart Donald Trump are working in 'full cooperation and coordination,' The Times of Israel reported.

While addressing the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu emphasised that he and his US counterpart Donald Trump are in lockstep on the future of Gaza and what to do regarding Hamas. He made these remarks shortly after emphasising the same point during his joint press statement along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Netanyahu said, 'I cannot go into all the details -- but we have a joint strategy, including when and how the gates of hell will open if all of our hostages, all of them, are not released and do not return home.'

He stressed that both leaders have same goals. He said, 'Not only the release of the hostages, the elimination of Hamas, and of course ensuring that Gaza will not again be a threat to Israel, plus the president's plan that says that Gaza will be completely different.'

Netanyahu stressed that a 'joint strategy' can create 'a totally different future' for Israel. He noted that there has never been such potential in Israel's history to eliminate threats and create opportunities for the Jewish state, The Times of Israel reported.

Israel PM also took a veiled swipe at the Biden administration, The Times of Israel reported. He said, 'We faced administrations, let's be honest, I will be a diplomat for a moment -- much less sympathetic. Administrations that also pressured us from all sides to make dangerous concessions, withheld from us all sorts of things that were important to us.'

He also took credit for cultivating ties with Trump and his circle and insisted that it was done for Israel's best interests and not for partisan reasons. Netanyahu was the first world leader who met Trump at the White House following his inauguration on January 20.

Earlier on Saturday, three hostages--Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn were released by Hamas after 498 days in captivity. The three hostages were released as part of the sixth hostage prisoner exchange under the ongoing ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. (ANI)