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Saturday, August 24, 2024
Report: Hamas delegation heading to Cairo today for hostage-ceasefire talks
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A Hamas delegation is heading to Cairo today for talks with negotiators on a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal, Al Jazeera reports.
A high-level Israeli delegation was in Cairo this week and Doha last week to discuss the latest offer for a deal with US and Egyptian negotiators.
After refusing to firmly press Hamas to accept the bridging offer presented by the US in Doha last week, Egypt reportedly passed the amended sections regarding the Rafah Border Crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor to the terror group yesterday.
Pressure is at a peak to close a deal to free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas on October 7 and end the fighting in Gaza, with threatened reprisal attacks on Israel from Iran and its proxies in the region on hold while negotiators try to find compromises.
It is believed that 105 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Efforts to make a deal have been unsuccessful since Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released before that, while seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive. The bodies of 30 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
The Times of Israel Community.