A delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas is in the Egyptian capital for truce negotiations and the release of captives, with sources saying some progress has been made.
However, sticking points remain, including Israel’s insistence on launching a ground invasion in Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah.
The Hamas team arrived in Cairo on Saturday to meet with mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States regarding a proposal that would end Israel’s 40-day war on Gaza and exchange captives for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by the United Kingdom.
Sources told Al Jazeera that negotiations are at a critical point as a Qatari technical team works out the details of a potential deal with the Egyptians.
“Usually technical teams indicate that we are moving on to the operational side of a deal. There are phases to this deal, and they will try to work out the details of those phases,” Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra said from Doha.
Osama Hamdan, Hamas’ main spokesperson, told Al Jazeera: “It is clear that we are moving forward. There are some good points.
“But until now we are still talking about the main issue, which is the complete ceasefire and complete withdrawal from Gaza. We hope to find good and positive answers today.
Hamdan said one of the “key elements” discussed was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of sending the the army in Rafah.
For its part, Israel has repeatedly declared that, regardless of a possible agreement with Hamas, it would proceed with the invasion of Rafah. United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups have long warned that a ground operation would spell disaster for the more than 1.5 million people sheltered there.
“Unfortunately, Netanyahu clearly stated that no matter what, whether there was a ceasefire or not, he would continue the attack,” Hamdan said. “This means there will be no ceasefire and the attack will continue, which goes against what we are discussing.
“At least we want to know exactly what it means, his statement and the reaction of the mediators. We understand that any achievement of a ceasefire means that there will be no more attacks on Gaza and Rafah,” he added.
The negotiations, Al Jazeera’s Ahelbarra said, aimed to convince Hamas that it should avoid demanding a permanent ceasefire from Israel in the first phase of the deal, as this is unlikely. likely.
“Behave calmly”
More than 240 people were captured on October 7 when Hamas fighters launched an attack in southern Israel, killing more than 1,100 people.
Israel then launched its war on Gaza that killed more than 34,600 Palestinians, reduced more than 70 percent of Palestinian territory to rubble and pushed pockets of the population inward. famine.
A first round of negotiations between Israel and Hamas in November resulted in the release of around 100 prisoners in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. But since then, negotiations have largely stalled.
In recent weeks, mediators have renewed their efforts to reach an agreement. They are now waiting for Hamas to respond to this proposal.
Despite talk of “progress” in the negotiations on Saturday, Israeli Minister Benny Gantz called for caution in the face of such reports.
“No response on the broad outlines of the agreement has yet been received. When it is received, the war cabinet will meet and discuss it,” Gantz said in a statement.
“Until then, I suggest to all ‘political elements’ and decision-makers to wait for official updates, behave calmly and not descend into hysteria for political reasons,” he said. he added.
In his comments to Al Jazeera, Hamas’s Hamdan said the war could end immediately if the United States so decided.
“We need to talk about the real position of the United States because this is the main issue that will affect the position of the Israelis, and mainly Netanyahu,” he said.
“If the US administration has made it clear to Netanyahu, enough is enough… I assure you it will happen. »
