A Hamas official said on Monday that no progress was made at a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo. Delegations from Israel, Qatar, and the US are also attending the talks, shortly after Egyptian sources said headway had been made on the agenda.
Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday after the arrival on Saturday of CIA Director William Burns, whose presence underlined rising US pressure for a deal that would free hostages held in Gaza and get aid to stricken civilians.
“There is no change in the position of the occupation, and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks,” the Hamas official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. “There is no progress yet.”
Earlier on Monday, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV channel quoted a senior Egyptian source saying progress had been made after a deal was reached among participating delegations on issues under discussion.
Israel’s KAN news reported Monday afternoon that talks between the Hamas and Israeli delegations are progressing. Allegedly, the Israeli mediation team is currently waiting for the response of the Hamas delegation.
In Jerusalem over the weekend, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz described the Cairo talks as the closest the sides have come to a deal since a November truce under which Hamas released dozens of hostages.
“We have reached a critical point in the negotiations. If it works out, then a large number of hostages will come home,” he told Israel’s Army Radio.
Hamas seized 253 Israelis during the October 7 cross-border killing spree in southern Israel that sparked the war. Of those, 129 hostages remain, and negotiators have spoken of around 40 going free in the first stage of a prospective deal with Hamas.
Two Egyptian security sources and Al-Qahera News said progress had been made in the Cairo talks.
The security sources said that both sides had made concessions that could help facilitate a ceasefire deal in parallel meetings with mediators on Sunday.
The concessions related to the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas come from the terrorist group’s demand for the return of displaced residents to northern Gaza, they added, without giving further details.
Al-Qahera reported that consultations were expected to continue within the next 48 hours.
Hamas not flexible on main demands
These steps take precedence over Israel’s prime demand for a release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Regarding the exchange of prisoners, Hamas was and is willing to be more flexible, but there is no flexibility over our…main demands,” he told Reuters.
Israel has ruled out winding up the war shortly or withdrawing from Gaza, saying its forces will not relent until Hamas no longer controls Gaza or threatens Israel militarily.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not give in to “extreme” Hamas demands.
But Israeli officials have signaled a willingness to allow some Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza to return there.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed on Monday that the conditions the IDF has created within Gaza have allowed Israel to be “more flexible, [created] freedom of action and [given Israel] the ability to make tough decisions regarding the return of the hostages.”
Under international pressure to ease Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and not follow through on plans to storm Rafah, a southern town packed with a million displaced people, Israel said on Sunday it had pulled more soldiers from southern Gaza.
This left just one brigade there, but Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the troops would be preparing for future military operations, including “their coming mission in the Rafah area.”
As Israeli forces retreated from the heart of residential areas of the southern city of Khan Yunis, rocket sirens blared throughout the border communities near the Gaza Strip.
Subsequently, the Israeli air force destroyed three Hamas rocket launchers discovered in Khan Yunis in a humanitarian aid corridor.
Residents of Rafah, claimed that Israel carried out at least five airstrikes on parts of the city, causing a number of injuries.
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