A delegation of Hamas will return to Egypt on Tuesday to resume negotiations on the proposal to implement a ceasefire in Gaza combined with the release of hostages, the Egyptian media outlet Al-Qahera News reported today.
“The Hamas delegation left Cairo tonight for Doha, where it will hold consultations and return on Tuesday to conclude the negotiations” being conducted through mediators with Israel, Al-Qahera News reported citing a well-informed source.
In Qatar the director of the CIA
CIA Director William Burns is on his way to Doha for an urgent meeting with Qatar’s prime minister, a US official said today.
“Burns is on his way to Doha for an urgent meeting with the Qatari prime minister with the aim of putting greater pressure on Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations,” the official said.
A delegation of Hamas negotiators is preparing to leave for Doha after a meeting with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on the truce plan “concluded,” an official with the Islamist group told AFP.
“The meeting with the Egyptian intelligence minister has ended, the Hamas delegation will leave for Doha to continue consultations” with the movement’s leadership, the unnamed Hamas official said.
Hopes for the prospect of a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas at talks in Cairo have dwindled in recent days as the two sides’ differences have become apparent, notably over the implementation of a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
In particular, Hamas repeated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages only to receive a categorically negative response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel does not consent to the end of military operations
Israel wants a deal that would provide for the release of at least some of the roughly 130 hostages held by Hamas, but an Israeli official on Saturday hinted that his central position had not changed, saying that Israel “under no circumstances ” is not going to reach an agreement that will end the war, which it continues with the aim of disarming and finally dismantling Hamas.
Another Palestinian official told Reuters that the negotiations “face challenges because the occupying power (Israel) refuses to commit to a comprehensive ceasefire”, but added that the Hamas delegation was still in Cairo in the hope that mediators they will be able to pressure Israel to change its position.
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