Cairo:
Hamas negotiators began intensified talks on Saturday on a possible ceasefire in Gaza that would see some hostages returned to Israel, a Hamas official told Reuters, while the CIA director was present in Cairo.
The Hamas delegation arrived from the Palestinian Islamist movement's political office in Qatar, which has been working with Egypt to mediate a follow-up to a brief ceasefire in November amid international consternation over the rising number of deaths in Gaza and the fate of the 2.3 million people in Gaza. inhabitants.
Taher Al-Nono, a Hamas official and adviser to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, said meetings with Egyptian and Qatari mediators had begun and that Hamas was treating their proposals “with full seriousness and responsibility.”
However, he reiterated demands that any deal must include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war, conditions that Israel has previously rejected.
“Any agreement to be reached must include our national demands; the complete and permanent end to the aggression, the full and complete withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their homes without restrictions and a real prisoner exchange deal. in addition to reconstruction and ending the blockade,” Nono told Reuters.
An Israeli official indicated that Israel's core position was unchanged, saying the country would “under no circumstances” agree to end the war in a deal to free hostages.
The war began after Hamas stunned Israel on October 7 with a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people and took 252 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed – 32 of them in the most recent 24-hour period – and more than 77,000 have been injured in the Israeli attack. The bombing destroyed much of the enclave.
While the rallies were underway in Cairo, Israeli forces said they killed Aiman Zaarab, who they said had been a leader of Islamic Jihad forces in southern Gaza and had taken part in the attack of October 7.
Hopes are growing for a ceasefire
There was some optimism before the talks started.
“Things are looking better this time, but whether there will be an agreement depends on whether Israel has offered what is needed to make that happen,” a Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediation efforts, who declined to be named, told reporters. wanted to be mentioned, to Reuters.
Washington – which, like other Western powers and Israel, labels Hamas a terrorist group – has urged the country to reach a deal.
However, progress has stumbled over long-standing Hamas demands to commit to ending the offensive. Israel insists that after any ceasefire it will resume operations aimed at disarming and dismantling the faction.
Hamas said on Friday it would come to Cairo in a “positive spirit” after reviewing the latest proposal, little of which has been made public.
Israel has given a preliminary nod to the terms, which one source said include the return of between 20 and 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a several-week ceasefire.
That would leave about 100 hostages in Gaza, some of whom Israel says have died in captivity. The source, who asked not to be identified by name or nationality, told Reuters that their return may require an additional agreement.
“That could mean a de facto, if not formal, end to the war – unless Israel somehow gets them back by force or generates enough military pressure to get Hamas to give in,” the source said.
Egyptian sources said CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo on Friday. He was involved in previous negotiations for a ceasefire and Washington has indicated that progress may be made this time.
The CIA declined to comment on Burns' route.
Cairo made another attempt late last month to revive talks, alarmed by the prospect of an Israeli attack on Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have taken refuge near the border with Egypt .
Such an Israeli operation could derail vulnerable humanitarian operations in Gaza and endanger many more lives, according to UN officials. Israel says it will not be deterred from eventually taking Rafah and is working on a plan to evacuate civilians.
Saturday's talks in Cairo come as Qatar reviews its role as a mediator, according to an official familiar with Doha's thinking. Qatar could stop hosting Hamas's political office, said the official, who did not know whether the Palestinian group's delegates could also be asked to leave in such a scenario.
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