TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / December 9, 2024
Hamas has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a complete cessation of hostilities as conditions for any agreement.
A delegation from the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas, led by Khalil al-Hayya, departed Cairo on Sunday evening after meeting with Egypt’s General Intelligence Chief, Major General Hassan Rashad.
The discussions focused on efforts to establish a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli political sources alleged that Tel Aviv and Hamas were nearing an agreement on a “limited” deal.
In a statement on the Telegram platform, Hamas announced that its leadership delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, had concluded a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence officials.
“A delegation from the leadership of the Hamas Movement, headed by Dr. Khalil al-Hayya, has left the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after holding a meeting on Sunday with the Minister of General Intelligence,” the statement said, noting that “during the meeting, they discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the Community Support Committee in the Strip.”
“The delegation emphasized its commitment to the success of these efforts and to ending the aggression against our people,” the statement concluded.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Egyptian delegation was working to mediate reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah while promoting a potential agreement for prisoner exchanges.
According to the report, Hamas indicated a willingness to consider a phased agreement, similar to the ceasefire terms previously negotiated with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli sources cited by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority claimed that a “small” deal might soon be reached.
This arrangement could involve a two-month ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners classified as humanitarian cases – including women, the elderly, the wounded, and the sick – and a partial Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas, along with mediating countries Egypt and Qatar, did not comment on these claims.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that developments in Syria, including the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, could facilitate progress on a prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza, according to Israeli media.
The same day, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar indicated progress in talks with Hamas during a conference hosted by Israel Hayom. Similarly, President Isaac Herzog confirmed ongoing negotiations to secure the release of prisoners held in Gaza.
The prisoner exchange talks have encountered obstacles, including Netanyahu’s insistence on controlling key border areas such as the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing.
Hamas has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a complete cessation of hostilities as conditions for any agreement.
Israel estimates that approximately 100 individuals remain detained in Gaza.
Ongoing genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,708 Palestinians have been killed, and 106,050 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
