Egypt-hosted talks for Gaza cease-fire concluded: Hamas

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian group Hamas said Sunday that a two-day round of talks in Egypt to reach a Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap had ended.

In a statement, Hamas said its delegation will leave the Egyptian capital, Cairo, tonight for consultations with the group’s leadership.

“The delegation conveyed the Hamas response to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators,” it added, without giving details about the content of the group’s response.

“Hamas is determined to reach an agreement that meets the national demands of our people,” the statement said.

Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News channel, citing a well-placed source, said Hamas will return to Cairo on Tuesday with a “final response” to an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire deal in Gaza.

According to the source, all details related to the Gaza cease-fire were discussed between an Egyptian security delegation and the Hamas delegation.

The source cited “great progress” in the talks, without providing any further details.

Early Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls to end the Gaza offensive in return for a hostage swap deal with Hamas, claiming that ending the war now would keep the Palestinian group in power.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, for his part, accused Netanyahu of undermining efforts to reach a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza in return for any hostage deal with Tel Aviv.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack led by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people. Nearly 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala