A senior Hamas official says the Hamas leadership has approved the implementation of the first phase of the hostage deal The The Jerusalem Post.
According to Arab media on Saturday, Hamas will soon announce that it has agreed to an Egyptian mediation plan.
Egypt’s “Al-Rad” channel reported that Hamas abandoned the ceasefire condition in the first phase of the hostage deal. According to the report, Hamas waived this condition during the first phase of mediation, with assurances from hostage mediators.
Palestinian newspaper al-Quds said the announcement would be made within days, while al-Sharq newspaper, close to the Qatari government, said it would be made within hours.
“In light of recent contacts with brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar, a Hamas delegation will travel to Cairo. [sâmbătă] to end negotiations,” Hamas quoted al-Sharq as saying.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday morning, the Saudi newspaper Asharq reported. Hamas said its main objective would be to reach a national consensus and rebuild the administration of the Gaza Strip.
Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas have reportedly held talks in recent hours over the number of prisoners to be released under the deal.
Hamas, al-Quds reported, also received U.S. guarantees of a permanent end to the war and withdrawal of foreign direct investment from the Gaza Strip in the third phase of the deal.
Hamas has reportedly said it does not require a permanent ceasefire as a precondition for talks, and that it is still holding senior officials hostage and could use them in negotiations for a longer ceasefire.
The IDF denied abandoning its invasion of Rafah following a hostage deal, telling Israeli media: “As the politicians have decided, the IDF will enter Rafah and destroy the remaining Hamas forces there. Our hostages”.
Political officials agreed, saying the hostage deal was unrelated to the Rafah invasion and that the invasion would take place regardless of the deal’s success.
A senior Hamas official confirmed to N12 on Saturday morning that Hamas leaders had approved the implementation of the first phase of the hostage deal.
According to the report, the change appears to have come as the United States, Qatar and Egypt pledged that Israel would fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip before the end of the deal.
Citing Arab media reports, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that a senior Saudi official confirmed that Hamas was satisfied with the US assurances.
The N12 report notes that the same source said CIA Director William Burns will return to Cairo on Saturday to meet with the Hamas negotiating team.
The source continued that part of the pledges was that Israel would not enter Rafah at any point in the deal.
He also confirmed that compromises had been reached on the number of Palestinian hostages and prisoners
Y-Net, citing an Al Jazeera interview with senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan, reported that the Islamist organization was confused, amid conflicting reports about whether or not an Israeli operation in Rafah would happen if Hamas accepted the hostage plan. Israeli Rhetoric.
“Unfortunately, no matter what happened, there was a clear statement from Netanyahu about whether or not there would be a ceasefire – he would order the Rafah operation,” Hamdan said. “This means there will be no ceasefire and fighting will continue, which is contrary to what we are discussing. We have to understand what he is saying. Our understanding is that any ceasefire agreement means no more attacks in Gaza.
“Today’s results will be different. We have reached an agreement on many issues and there are some points,” an Egyptian security source told Reuters.
A Palestinian official familiar with mediation efforts expressed cautious optimism.
“Things are good at the moment, but whether a deal is achievable depends on whether Israel has provided what is needed to make it happen,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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