GAZA: Palestinian group Hamas expects "real progress" towards a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, an official said, as senior leaders from the movement hold talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday. The meeting between Palestinian Hamas and Egyptian mediators comes amid ongoing violence in Gaza, as the Israeli military intercepted three projectiles fired from the territory and launched air strikes and artillery shelling on several areas. The scheduled talks in Cairo also come days after US President Donald Trump suggested an agreement to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza was close to being finalised.
A Hamas official said that the Palestinian group anticipated the meeting with Egyptian mediators would yield significant progress. "We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza," the official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter. The delegation will be led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, he said.
According to the official, Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement. "However, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing," he added, accusing Israel of "continuing its aggression" in Gaza. The Times of Israel reported that Egypt's proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies, in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.
President Trump said during a cabinet meeting this week that "we're getting close to getting them (hostages in Gaza) back". Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was also quoted in an Israeli media report as saying "A very serious deal is taking shape, it's a matter of days".
Israel resumed its Gaza strikes on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Since then, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago. Dozens of these strikes have killed "only women and children," according to a report by UN human rights office. The report also warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the "forcible transfer" of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising "real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza".
On Saturday, Israel continued with its offensive. Gaza's civil defence agency reported an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City on Saturday morning. Footage of the aftermath of the strike showed the bodies of four men, wrapped in white shrouds, at a local hospital, while several individuals gathered to offer prayers before the funeral. The Israeli military, meanwhile, said its air force intercepted three projectiles that were identified as crossing into Israeli territory from southern Gaza on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Israel announced on Saturday that its military had completed the takeover of a new corridor in southern Gaza, advancing its efforts to seize large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory. The military also announced a sweeping evacuation order for tens of thousands of residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza ahead of a planned strike after projectiles were fired from there earlier in the day.
Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel's renewed offensive in Gaza has displaced hundreds of thousands of people while the military has seized large areas of the war-battered territory.
Top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said that the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing the remaining 58 hostages held in Gaza. Hamas said the offensive not only "kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation's prisoners (hostages) uncertain". In a separate announcement, the military ordered residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas to evacuate after the air force intercepted three projectiles fired from south Gaza earlier in the day. — AFP
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