- Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo for ceasefire talks, an official source said
Hamas has said that a ceasefire in Gaza is possible ‘within 24 to 48 hours’ if Israel accepts its demands.
A delegation led by Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ deputy leader in Gaza, has arrived in Cairo as negotiations are set to resume there today, according to a senior official.
The list of demands the group wants met include ‘the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and increasing humanitarian aid,’ an official said.
Hopes for a fresh ceasefire have been reignited after a US administration official said last night that there is ‘a deal on the table’ which Israel has ‘more or less accepted’.
‘It will be a six-week ceasefire in Gaza starting today if Hamas agrees to release the defined category of vulnerable hostages, the sick, the wounded, elderly and women,’ the Washington official said.
They added that the path to a ceasefire is ‘now straightforward’ and that the onus is now on Hamas to accept the deal.
Palestinian men search for salvageable items amid the rubble of a house destroyed in an overnight Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 3
Palestinian children walk past the rubble of the al-Bukhari mosque in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on March 2
Smoke rises during an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis on February 29
Negotiators from regional powers have been working around the clock to secure a Gaza truce by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10.
An Israeli source briefed on the talks said yesterday that Israel would not send a delegation until it got a full list of hostages who are still alive.
It comes as Israel’s operations in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis have intensified, destroying dozens of Hamas targets in a blitz of air and artillery strikes.
Israel’s air force and artillery hit about 50 targets within six minutes, it said, in a bid to ‘intensify operational achievements in the area.’
‘During the strikes, the troops destroyed terrorist infrastructure and eliminated Hamas terrorists who were operating from civilian facilities in urban areas,’ it said.
Residents in the area said they were surprised by the swift advancement of Israeli tanks, which sparked fresh battles with Palestinian gunmen.
In one housing project some families took to social media, saying they were unable to leave their homes with the tanks in the streets.
Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said it attacked two tanks with rockets and blew up a building where soldiers had entered.
Khan Younis has been a focus of Israel’s military offensive in recent weeks.