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Witnesses describe chaos and panic at Turkish ski resort as fire ripped through hotel where 79 died

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Witnesses describe chaos and panic at Turkish ski resort as fire ripped through hotel where 79 died
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Witnesses describe chaos and panic at Turkish ski resort as fire ripped through hotel where 79 died

2025-01-23 00:58 Last Updated At:01:03

KARTALKAYA, Turkey (AP) — As flames tore through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey, friends Esra Karakisa and Halime Cetin watched helplessly as the horror unfolded before them. Some people were leaning out of smoke-filled rooms pleading for help, while others made the harrowing decision to jump.

Tuesday's fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel, in Kartalkaya, in the Koroglu mountains in Bolu province left at least 79 people dead and 51 injured. It came near the start of a two-week winter break for schools when hotels in the region are filled to capacity.

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Relatives and friends attend the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

People attend the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

People attend the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Tightened bed sheets hang from a window of a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Tightened bed sheets hang from a window of a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A Turkish flag flag flies at half staff outside a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A Turkish flag flag flies at half staff outside a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters and emergency teams work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters and emergency teams work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, in northwest Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Enes Ozkan/IHA via AP)

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, in northwest Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Enes Ozkan/IHA via AP)

“There was no one around. They were calling for firefighters. They were breaking the windows. Some could no longer stand the smoke and flames, and they jumped,” Cetin, an employee at a hotel adjacent to the Grand Kartal, told The Associated Press.

Karakisa said: “It was awful. We were terrified. People were screaming. The cries of children especially affected us. We wanted to help but there was nothing we could do. I couldn’t look it was so terrifying.”

Authorities have assigned six prosecutors to investigate the cause of the fire, which appeared to have started at the restaurant section on the fourth floor of the wooden-clad hotel and spread quickly through to the upper floors.

On Wednesday a deputy mayor and the acting fire chief for Bolu were both detained, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported, bringing to 11 the number of people taken into custody as part of the investigation, including the hotel's owner.

Flags at government buildings and Turkish diplomatic missions abroad were lowered to half-staff as the nation shocked by the disaster observed a day of mourning for the victims.

The Bolu chief prosecutor's office on Wednesday raised the death toll to 79 from the previous 76. Authorities have so far identified 56 of the victims, Anadolu reported.

Twelve people were still being treated in hospitals, including one person who was in serious condition, the Health Ministry said.

On Wednesday, Turkey began conducting funeral prayers for the deceased.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Bolu from the capital Ankara to attend the funeral of eight members of the Gultekin family, who were related to an official of his ruling party.

“Our hearts are broken,” Erdogan said during the funeral of Zehra Sena Gultekin, her husband, their four children and another relative. “May God grant us patience.”

In Ankara, mourners joined officials at the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque to bid farewell to Ahmet Cetiz, a doctor at a private hospital in the city, his wife Habibe and their sons, Vedat and Esat. Vedat's twin brother, Sedat, is also believed to have died, but his body has not been identified yet, the private DHA news agency reported.

The funeral was also held in Ankara on Wednesday for 15-year-old high Eren Bagci, a skiing enthusiast who was in Kartalkaya with his friends, DHA said.

The hotel had 238 registered guests. The fire was reported at 3:27 a.m. local time and the fire department began to respond at 4:15 a.m., the interior minister told reporters.

Officials and witnesses said the rescue efforts were hampered by the fact that part of the 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff.

According to Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the hotel underwent inspections in 2021 and 2024, and “no negative situation regarding fire competence” was reported by the fire department.

Karakisa said she eventually brought clothes and water for the survivors while others rushed to bring mattresses for people to jump onto or propped up ladders against the wall to help them escape.

Among those who placed mattresses was Baris Salgur, a cleaner in a nearby hotel.

“They were saying, ‘Please help, we’re burning!' They were saying, ‘Call the fire department.' We were trying to calm them down, but there was nothing we could do, we couldn’t get in either,” Salgur, 19, said. "It was very high, we couldn’t extend a rope or anything of course. We were trying to do the best we could.

“People jumped from a great height, I couldn’t look. There were two women at the top floor. The flames had literally entered the room. They couldn’t stand it and jumped.”

Salgur described seeing a man on the top floors holding a baby and shouting for a mattress he could throw his baby on.

"We told him to be a little calmer. He waited, then the fire department came and took them (out), but unfortunately the baby had died from smoke inhalation,” he said.

Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Robert Badendieck in Istanbul contributed to this report.

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of Yilmaz Saritas and his children Nehir and Doruk, who were among the 76 victims who died in a fire at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, at Karsıyaka cemetery in Ankara, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, attends the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Relatives carry the coffin of one of the members of the Gultekin family during their funeral at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

People attend the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

People attend the funeral of members of the Gultekin family at the Kalici Konutlar Merkez mosque in Bolu, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Eight members of the Gultekin family died in a fire that broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province. (Adem Altan/Pool Photo via AP)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Tightened bed sheets hang from a window of a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Tightened bed sheets hang from a window of a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A Turkish flag flag flies at half staff outside a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A Turkish flag flag flies at half staff outside a hotel where a fire broke out at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters and emergency teams work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters and emergency teams work on the aftermath of a fire that broke out at a hotel in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, northwest Turkey, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, in northwest Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Enes Ozkan/IHA via AP)

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a hotel at a ski resort of Kartalkaya, located in Bolu province, in northwest Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Enes Ozkan/IHA via AP)

MUGHRAQA, Gaza strip (AP) — Israeli forces began withdrawing from a key Gaza corridor on Sunday, Israeli officials said, part of Israel's commitments under a tenuous ceasefire deal with Hamas that is moving ahead but faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension.

Israel agreed as part of the truce to remove its forces from the 4-mile (6-kilometer) Netzarim corridor, a strip of land that bisects northern Gaza from the south that Israel used as a military zone during the war.

At the start of the ceasefire last month, Israel began allowing Palestinians to cross Netzarim to head to their homes in the war-battered north, sending hundreds of thousands streaming across Gaza on foot and by car. The withdrawal of forces from the area will fulfill another commitment to the deal, which paused the 15-month war.

However, the sides appear to have made little progress on negotiating the deal's second phase, which is meant to extend the truce and lead to the release of more Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator in talks between the sides, but the mission included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it won’t lead to a breakthrough in extending the truce. Netanyahu is also expected to convene a meeting of key Cabinet ministers this week on the second phase of the deal.

Since it began on Jan. 19, the ceasefire deal has faced repeated obstacles and disagreements between the sides, underscoring its fragility. But it has held, raising hopes that the devastating war that led to seismic shifts in the Middle East may be headed toward an end.

On Sunday, cars heaped with belongings, including water tanks and suitcases, were seen heading north through a road that crosses Netzarim. Under the deal, Israel is supposed to allow the cars to cross through uninspected and there did not appear to be troops in the vicinity of the road.

The Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss troop movement with the media, did not disclose how many soldiers were withdrawing. Troops currently remain along Gaza's borders with Israel and Egypt and a full withdrawal is expected to be negotiated in a later stage of the truce.

During the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages captured during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for a pause in fighting, freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a flood of humanitarian aid to war-battered Gaza. The deal also stipulates that Israeli troops will pull back from populated areas of Gaza as well as the Netzarim corridor.

In the second phase, all remaining hostages would be released in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a “sustainable calm.” But details beyond that are unclear and repeated stumbling blocks throughout the first phase and the deep mistrust between the sides have cast doubt on whether they can nail down the extension.

Israel has said it won’t agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it won’t hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops from the territory.

Netanyahu meanwhile is under heavy pressure from his far-right political allies to resume the war after the first phase so that Hamas, which carried out the deadliest attack on Israelis in their history, can be defeated. He is facing pressure from Israelis who are eager to see more hostages return home, especially after the gaunt appearances of the three male captives freed on Saturday stunned the nation.

Complicating things further is a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate the population of Gaza and take ownership of the Palestinian territory. Israel has expressed openness to the idea while Hamas, the Palestinians and the broader Arab world have rejected it outright.

The suggested plan is saddled with moral, legal and practical obstacles. But it may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic by Trump, to try to ratchet up pressure on Hamas or as an opening gambit in a bargaining process aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. That grand deal appeared to be rattled on Sunday as Saudi Arabia condemned remarks by Netanyahu who said Palestinians could create their state in that territory.

Saudi Arabia said his remarks “aim to divert attention from the successive crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are being subjected to.”

In an interview Thursday with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu said: “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”

The United Arab Emirates, which reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020, also condemned Netanyahu’s remarks late Saturday.

The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians according to local health authorities who do not differentiate between fighters and noncombatants in their count. Vast parts of the territory have been obliterated in the fighting, leaving many Palestinians returning to damaged or destroyed homes.

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

FILE - Israeli soldiers drive near the northern Gaza Strip border in southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

FILE - Israeli soldiers drive near the northern Gaza Strip border in southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

FILE - Israeli soldiers wave to the camera from an APC as they cross from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

FILE - Israeli soldiers wave to the camera from an APC as they cross from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

Palestinians are seen near destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments inside the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians are seen near destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments inside the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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