Assalamu alaikum - Hamas delegation meets Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo
Assalamu alaikum - A Hamas delegation was due to meet with Qatari and Egyptian officials in Cairo on Monday to talk about keeping the fragile Gaza ceasefire in place, a source close to the talks said. The Israeli military carried out strikes on numerous Hamas positions across Gaza on Sunday after militants reportedly killed two soldiers; Israel called that a clear breach of the truce. Hamas denied involvement and said Israel had violated the ceasefire that began on 10 October.
The delegation, led by Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya, was expected to raise concerns about the “dozens of airstrikes that killed dozens in the Gaza Strip” on Sunday, the source added. Egypt and Qatar have long acted as mediators in indirect discussions between the parties, trying to bring an end to the war that followed Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas’ team will also meet Egyptian officials about an upcoming intra-Palestinian dialogue hosted by Egypt aimed at unifying Palestinian factions. Egypt has hosted several meetings between rival Palestinian groups before, including Islamist Hamas and Fatah, whose leader Mahmoud Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority. The two movements have been at odds for years, especially after the violent split in Gaza in 2007.
The talks are meant to discuss unifying the factions and important issues like Gaza’s future and forming an independent committee of experts to manage the Strip, the source said. Under the US-brokered ceasefire plan, an independent transitional authority of technocrats was proposed to administer Gaza. Hamas has said it does not wish to govern Gaza after two years of war, though its forces have returned to areas Israel withdrew from after the ceasefire. Some Palestinian officials have suggested appointing unaffiliated Palestinian managers to run the territory.
Another informed source said mediators’ contacts helped restore calm overnight and implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
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