CAIRO (AFP): A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Wednesday for Gaza truce talks, the group said, rejecting “American and Israeli threats” and demanding that Israel comply with the ceasefire deal.
The truce which came into effect last month largely halted more than 15 months of war, but has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting a new push by mediators Qatar and Egypt to salvage it.
“A delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, arrived in Cairo and began meetings with Egyptian officials,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
It added that the delegation, led by Hamas’s chief negotiator, was monitoring “the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.”
A senior Hamas official told AFP the delegation “will discuss ways to end the current crisis and ensure the (Israeli) occupation’s commitment to implementing the agreement.”
On Tuesday Israel warned that it could resume fighting if hostages are not released by Saturday, echoing a threat by US President Donald Trump who said “hell” would break out if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by that day.
A sixth hostage-prisoner exchange under the truce deal was scheduled for Saturday, but earlier this week Hamas had announced it was postponing the upcoming release, citing Israel’s failure to allow the entry of key humanitarian aid into Gaza.
A diplomat familiar with the talks said that mediators were engaged with both Israel and Hamas to resolve the dispute and ensure the implementation of the long elusive agreement.
“Mediators are engaging with both Israel and Hamas to try to solve the current issues and ensure both parties of the conflict adhere to the ceasefire and hostage release agreement in place,” the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the group demanded that Israel “adhere to the agreed humanitarian protocol.”
“The Israeli occupation is evading the implementation of several provisions of the ceasefire agreement,” Qassem said in a separate statement.
“Our position is clear, and we will not accept the language of American and Israeli threats. Israel must commit to implementing the terms of the ceasefire agreement” to secure the release of its hostages, he said.
The spokesman added that talks with mediators were ongoing to ensure the agreement’s implementation.
“We have received assurances from mediators that efforts are being made to compel the occupation to uphold the ceasefire terms in Gaza,” said Qassem.
A Palestinian source familiar with the issue earlier told AFP that mediators Egypt and Qatar were “working intensively” to resolve the crisis surround the ceasefire deal.
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad warned on Wednesday that the fate of hostages held in Gaza is linked to the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The fate of the prisoners (hostages) held by the resistance is directly tied to Netanyahu’s actions, for better or worse,” the Al-Quds Brigades spokesman Abu Hamza said in a video statement posted on the group’s Telegram channel.
“The only viable solution for recovering prisoners (hostages) and restoring stability is through a prisoner exchange deal,” Abu Hamza said.
“We hold the occupation government fully responsible for the consequences of its refusal to meet its obligations toward our afflicted people and its continued violations of the ceasefire agreement,” he said.
