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Hamas negotiators Intensive talks began on Saturday over a possible truce in the Gaza Strip that would lead to the return of some hostages to Israel, a Palestinian
Hamas negotiators Intensive talks began on Saturday over a possible truce in the Gaza Strip that would lead to the return of some hostages to Israel, a Palestinian spokesman told Reuters. CIA director present in Cairo.
The Hamas delegation arrived from the political office of the Islamist movement in Qatar, which, together with Egypt tried to mediate in achieving a short-term ceasefire reached in November amid international concern over the rising death toll in the Gaza Strip and the plight of its 2.3 million residents.
Taher Al-Nono, a Hamas spokesman and adviser to its leader Ismail Haniyeh, said the meetings had begun. with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and that proposals were considered “with the utmost seriousness and responsibility.”
However, he repeated his demand that any agreement include an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and an end to the war, conditions that Israel had previously rejected.
“Any agreement reached must include our national demands: a complete and final cessation of aggression, a complete and complete end to the occupation of the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced persons to their homes without restrictions, and a genuine exchange agreement. prisoners, in addition to restoring and ending the blockade,” Nono told Reuters.
The Israeli official said his country’s basic position had not changed and “under no circumstances” would it agree to end the war through an agreement to release the hostages.
The war began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which Israel estimates killed 1,200 people and took 252 hostages.
More than 34,600 Palestinians have died Of those, 32 in the last 24 hours, and more than 77,000 were injured in the Israeli attack, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The explosions devastated much of the enclave.
While the meetings were taking place in Cairo, Israeli forces announced the death of Ayman Zaarab, known as the leader of Islamic Jihad forces in southern Gaza who participated in the October attack.
Before negotiations begin There was some optimism.
“Things seem to be going better this time, but whether an agreement is reached will depend on whether Israel offers everything it needs,” he said. Reuters Palestinian official familiar with mediation efforts who wished to remain anonymous.
Washington, which, like other Western powers and Israel, considers Hamas a terrorist group– urged him to come to an agreement.
However, progress has stalled due to Hamas’ long-standing demand for an end to the offensive. Israel insists that after any truce it will resume operations aimed at disarmament and dismantling the Islamist movement.
Hamas said on Friday it was traveling to Cairo in a “positive spirit” after studying the latest deal proposal, about which little information has been made public.
Israel has tentatively approved terms that one source said include the return of 20 to 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a cessation of fighting for several weeks.
That will leave Gaza with about 100 hostages, some of whom Israel says died in captivity. The source, who asked not to be identified by name or nationality, told Reuters that a further agreement may be required for his return.
“This could mean a de facto, if not formal, end to the war unless Israel somehow brings them back by force or exerts enough military pressure for Hamas to relent,” the source said.
According to Egyptian sources, CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo on Friday. Burns had been involved in previous armistice negotiations, and Washington signaled that there could be progress this time.
The CIA declined to comment on this information. Burns route.
Cairo injected new impetus into the talks late last month, alarmed by a possible Israeli attack on Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge near the border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Such an Israeli operation in Rafah could deal a serious blow to fragile humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip and put many more lives at risk, UN officials say. Israel insists it is unstoppable and is working on a plan to evacuate civilians.
Saturday’s talks in Cairo come as Qatar reconsiders its role as a mediator, according to an official familiar with Doha’s thinking. Qatar could stop hosting Hamas’ political office, said the official, who did not know whether delegates from the Palestinian group could also be asked to leave the country in such a scenario.
Reuters
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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