Hamas negotiators have arrived in Cairo for accelerated discussions on a possible Gaza truce that would see some hostages returned to Israel, with the CIA director, William Burns already present for the indirect diplomacy.
Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News TV channel also reported the Hamas delegation’s arrival in Cairo.
The Hamas delegation arrived from the Palestinian Islamist movement’s headquarters in Qatar, which, along with Egypt, has tried to mediate a follow-up to a brief November ceasefire.
Washington, while formally shunning Hamas, has called on it to enter a deal.
The talks have stumbled, however, over Hamas’ long-standing demand for a commitment to end the almost seven-month-old offensive by Israel, which insists that after any truce it would resume operations designed to disarm and dismantle the faction.
Signaling a possible breakthrough, Hamas said yesterday it would come to Cairo in a “positive spirit” after studying the latest proposal for a deal, little of which has been made public.
Israel has previously said it was open to the new terms.
Months of negotiations have stalled in part on Hamas’s demand for a lasting ceasefire and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated vows to crush the group’s remaining fighters in Rafah.
