A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported “noticeable progress” in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a truce. CIA director William Burns arrived Friday in Egypt, where negotiators are trying to seal a cease-fire accord between Israel and Hamas. Pressure has been mounting to reach a deal — Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is dramatically escalating while Israel insists it will launch an offensive into Rafah, the territory’s southernmost city. Egyptian state Al-Qahera news said Saturday that a consensus has been reached over many of the disputed points but did not elaborate. Hamas has called for a complete end to the war and withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.
Quick Read
- Hamas in Cairo for Cease-Fire Talks: A delegation from Hamas is currently in Cairo for discussions as Egyptian state media report significant progress in cease-fire negotiations with Israel. However, an Israeli official has downplayed the likelihood of an immediate truce.
- Gaza’s Escalating Humanitarian Crisis: The ongoing conflict has exacerbated a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where over 1 million Palestinians are taking refuge in Rafah amid a declared famine in the northern regions of the territory.
- CIA Director’s Involvement: CIA Director William Burns is in Egypt to support negotiations aimed at preventing the Rafah operation through a diplomatic agreement.
- Key Sticking Points in Negotiations: The talks are complicated by disagreements over whether Israel will agree to halt its military operations without achieving its objective of dismantling Hamas. Details of the discussions have not been fully disclosed.
- Casualties and Military Strikes Continue: Recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have resulted in additional deaths, with casualties reported in Rafah and the Nuseirat refugee camp.
- International Concerns and Mediation Efforts: The U.S. and the U.N. are involved in mediation efforts, with warnings about the risks of a potential Israeli operation in Rafah, which could endanger thousands of civilians.
- Potential Outcomes of Negotiations: Egyptian mediators have proposed a three-stage cease-fire plan, which includes the release of hostages and a partial Israeli withdrawal, aiming for an initial six-week truce.
The Associated Press has the story:
CIA Burns, Hamas in Cairo as Egyptian media report progress in cease-fire talks
Newslooks- TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) —
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported “noticeable progress” in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a truce.
Pressure has been mounting to reach a deal — Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is dramatically escalating while Israel insists it will launch an offensive into Rafah, the territory’s southernmost city.
The stakes are high to find a halt to the nearly seven-months-long war. More than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering in the city of Rafah, along the border with Egypt, many having fled northern Gaza where a top U.N. official says there is now a full-blown famine.
Egyptian and American mediators have reported signs of compromise in recent days but chances for a cease-fire deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas.
Egyptian state Al-Qahera news said Saturday that a consensus has been reached over many of the disputed points but did not elaborate. Hamas has called for a complete end to the war and withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.
CIA director William Burns arrived Friday in Egypt, where negotiators are trying to seal a cease-fire accord between Israel and Hamas.
The war has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s local health officials, caused widespread destruction and plunged the territory into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
The conflict erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, played down the prospects for an end to the war. The official told The Associated Press that Israel will not agree in any circumstance to end the war as part of a deal to release hostages.
Israeli strikes early Saturday on Gaza killed at least six people. Three bodies were recovered from the rubble of a building in Rafah and taken to Yousef Al Najjar hospital. A strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza also killed three people, according to hospital officials.
In the last 24 hours, the bodies of 32 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to local hospitals, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies, but says that women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.
The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.
In related developments this week, Israel briefed Biden administration officials on plans to evacuate civilians ahead of the Rafah operation, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
The United Nations has warned that hundreds of thousands would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel moves forward into the densely packed city, which is also a critical entry point for humanitarian aid.
The U.S. director of the U.N. World Food Program, Cindy McCain, said Friday that trapped civilians in the north, the most cut-off part of Gaza, have plunged into famine. McCain said a cease-fire and a greatly increased flow of aid through land and sea routes was essential.
Israel recently opened new crossings for aid into northern Gaza, but on Wednesday, Israeli settlers blocked the first convoy before it crossed into the besieged enclave. Once inside Gaza, the convoy was commandeered by Hamas militants, before U.N. officials reclaimed it.
The proposal that Egyptian mediators had put to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate, six-week cease-fire and partial release of Israeli hostages, and would include some sort of Israeli pullout. The initial stage would last for 40 days.
Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Gershon Baskin, director for the Middle East at the International Communities Organization, said it appears that Hamas has agreed to the framework that Egypt proposed and Israel has already accepted.
He said the negotiators are now hammering out the details — and if Israel sends its top negotiators to Cairo after the Sabbath ends on Saturday evening, that would signify it’s very serious.
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