Indirect Negotiations – Hamas Delegation Arrives in Cairo
A delegation from the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has arrived in Cairo, for talks on a possible ceasefire in the war in Gaza, Al-Jazeera reported.
Al-Jazeera quoted informed sources as saying that the meeting began at 2 PM local time (12 GMT), while no information has been received yet as to whether the Israeli delegation will head to Cairo to participate in the negotiations.
According to Al-Jazeera, Egyptian media quoted an unnamed high-ranking Egyptian source as confirming that negotiations would resume in Cairo on Sunday, indicating progress in the discussions.
For its part, Reuters quoted two Egyptian security sources as saying that the parties agreed on the duration of the truce in Gaza and the release of prisoners and detainees. According to the sources, completing the deal still requires agreeing on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Gaza and the return of its residents.
On February 26, a report by Al-Jazeera suggested that a draft proposal for a Gaza truce had been agreed on by Israel. Moreover, on the same day, comments by US President Joe Biden suggested that a truce was likely to start on Monday.
However, in a statement distributed through the Hamas Telegram channel, top official Osama Hamdan said that leaked reports did not reflect reality.
“The American draft agreement aims to save face for Israel,” the Hamas official added, as the Palestinian priorities of stopping the (Israeli) aggression, ending the siege, bringing aid to besieged Gaza, and exchanging prisoners come later.
“There is an Israeli maneuver to escape all commitments, (and) promoting the Paris draft agreement is a propaganda situation that does not reach what we want.”
A temporary humanitarian truce was reached on November 24 and lasted for a week. During the truce, 240 Palestinian detainees were released from occupation prisons in exchange for the release of more than 100 detainees held by the resistance in Gaza, including about 80 Israelis.
Death Toll Rises
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 30,410 Palestinians have been killed, and 71,700 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(PC, AJA)
