Hamas to attend vital Egypt talks aiming to end Gaza war
A top-level visit by Hamas leaders to Egypt this week is likely to determine the outcome of the latest draft deal negotiated by mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar to halt the war in Gaza.
Sources, who have direct knowledge of the planned visit, said Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and senior officials Khalil Al Hayya, Osama Hamdan and Moussa Abu Marzouk were due to arrive in Egypt by Saturday.
They are set to discuss the latest proposals with Egyptian intelligence officials in charge of Palestinian-Israeli affairs, the sources said.
Israel has yet to give its formal response to the proposed deal.
The draft envisages a truce of up to three months during which Israel and Hamas would enact a detaineehostage exchange with 5,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails released.
Sources claim Hamas has already informed Egyptian mediators of their rejection of the deal in principle, standing by its demand for a permanent ceasefire that guarantees Israel will withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Details of the draft were laid out in Paris, where the CIA chief, his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani have been meeting since Sunday in the latest attempt to end the war in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced hope for a deal to halt the war. He said “very important, productive work” had been done.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, however, called the Paris talks “constructive” but said “significant gaps” remained.
Mr Netanyahu, who has ruled out the release of thousands of Palestinians, is under pressure from Washington to end the war.
But far-right parties in Mr Netanyahu’s ruling coalition have said they would quit government rather than endorse a deal to free hostages that could leave the Hamas network intact.
A source close to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah said an Israeli rejection of the deal could add strain to Mr Netanyahu’s relations with the US administration.
“It is worth noting that the extremists in Netanyahu’s government deliberately mobilised Knesset members to make noises against the deal,” said the source. “But it is known that the general outlines of the deal were made under US pressure, which makes its rejection by Israel vulnerable to further straining relations with the Netanyahu government.”
Hamas does not want a deal that would allow Israel to resume its offensive in Gaza and has insisted on a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.