Hamas leaves Cairo without hostage agreement; Demands guarantees that Israel will end fighting in Gaza

The pro-Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that the Hamas delegation left Cairo this Monday morning after a series of meetings with senior Egyptian intelligence figures, including the head of the apparatus, Hassan Rashad.

According to the report, they also met with Qatari officials involved in the mediation efforts. It was also reported that it was agreed to continue consultations on the topics discussed in the meetings, but no agreement was reached.

Egyptian and Palestinian sources confirmed to Reuters that there was no breakthrough in the latest round of talks in Cairo. This comes against the backdrop of Hamas' demand that a ceasefire agreement include a commitment to end the war – a demand Israel rejects.

A senior Hamas source denied the report claiming that Hamas is willing to give up its weapons and stressed, "The weapons belong to the Palestinian people. Recently, several proposals were made calling for compliance with Israeli conditions regarding weapons and the leadership of terrorist organizations, but these proposals were rejected by all Palestinian factions, not just Hamas," he said.

Despite the differences, according to the newspaper, the Hamas delegation showed some flexibility regarding the number of hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The report notes that according to sources, the organization agreed to increase the number of hostages to be released to nine, while American officials are demanding the number be raised to eleven.

Egyptian sources told the newspaper that if Hamas agrees to release 11 hostages, they will be released in two phases. They also reported that discussions are still underway to resolve the "deadlock over ending the fighting," which Hamas insists upon and Netanyahu refuses to commit to.

Another senior Hamas official, Taher al-Nunu, said today that the organization is willing to release all hostages in exchange for a halt in fighting, the withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip, and the entry of humanitarian aid. According to him, "The issue is not the number of captives, but the fact that the occupation violates its commitments and prevents the implementation of the agreement."

Yesterday, Kan News reported that families of hostages who spoke with individuals involved in the negotiations heard that serious talks are underway regarding the release of the hostages, and that there may be developments as early as this week.

The Egyptian proposal includes the release of eight live hostages and another eight deceased ones, in exchange for a pause in the fighting that would last "between 40 to 70 days." Additionally, under the proposal, Israel would halt attacks and allow humanitarian aid to enter from the start of the agreement.

The Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo last night to hear about the Egyptian compromise proposal, which includes the release of eight Israeli hostages. According to reports from the Saudi Al-Arabiya channel, Hamas has agreed in principle to increase the number of hostages to be released under the agreement and will provide the mediators with a detailed report on every hostage in its custody.

The Saudi report also claimed that the United States sent a message to the mediators that it would pressure Israel to accept the emerging agreement, under which humanitarian aid would also enter the Gaza Strip and the crossings would reopen.

Hamas states that it positively views any proposal that would lead to a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip. Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu claimed that the problem does not lie in the number of hostages the terror organization is willing to release, but blames Israel for opposing a permanent ceasefire.

Written by KAN 11 correspondents Itamar Vishenko, Roi Kais and Anastasia Stukanov.