The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas reported that it will send a delegation to Cairo this Saturday to discuss a truce agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza, hours after CIA Director William Burnswill arrive in the city, according to Egyptian sources.
Egypt has led, along with Qatar and the United States, mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement in the conflict that began with the October 7 massacre on Israeli soil.
Hamas and CIA officials will meet with Egyptian mediators on Saturday, according to an Egyptian security source, although it was not clear whether they would do so separately or together.
In a statement, Hamas said its delegates were traveling to Cairo in a “positive spirit” after studying the latest truce agreement proposal presented by Israel. The delegation will be led by Khalil al Hayaa senior leader of the terrorist group.
A U.S. official said Washington believed there had been some progress in the talks but was still waiting to learn more. The CIA declined to comment, in line with its policy of not disclosing the director’s travels.
After weeks of talks, Benjamin Netanyahu’s War Cabinet delivered a truce proposal to the terrorist group that, from the outset, was noted as very promising.
The plan includes a 40-day cessation of fighting and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. But Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, demands a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave.
The initiative under consideration contemplates two stages, with the first of them focused on the release of a group of women and children hostages – without exceptions – in exchange for the release of 990 Palestinian prisoners. At the same time, the return of displaced people from the north to their homes and the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza is expected.
Meanwhile, in the second stage the remaining hostages would be released in exchange for the release of another 300 Palestinian prisoners.
Although the proposal does not contemplate one of Hamas’s main demands – the complete cessation of Israeli military aggression, which Netanyahu strongly opposes – it does would lay the foundations to continue with talks towards a definitive peace.
In this regard, the day before, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenurged a prompt positive response from the terrorist group and remained optimistic throughout the scenario.
“Everyone agrees that It’s a good proposal (…) The most important thing, the most urgent, is Hamas’s response in the coming days to the very powerful proposal that is on the table,” he said within the framework of his seventh tour of the Middle East since the beginning of the war. “If we enter into an initial ceasefire, if the hostages return home, we will work to build on that.”he added.
While these conversations progress, in the last hours, the authorities of the Kibbutz Beeri They mourned the death of a person who, until now, was believed to be alive in the hands of Hamas.
Dror Or He was considered one of the hostages taken on October 7 after the arrival of the combatants, along with his two children Noam and Alma, aged 17 and 13. That Saturday, the terrorists entered his home and, finding them hiding in the panic room, set fire to his house to force them to come out and capture them. While the body of his wife, Yonat Or, was found dead at the scene, no remains of the other three family members were found. During the November truce, the two children were releasedso there were only doubts about the father’s whereabouts.
(With information from AFP and Reuters)
