safe optimism? Senior Hamas official on the negotiations: "This time the atmosphere is different" | Report

The Hamas delegation returned to Doha this evening for consultations, this after the meeting with the mediators in Cairo, it was reported today (Monday) on the Al-Sharq al-Saudi channel.

"The Israeli delegation's visit to Cairo depends on Hamas' response to the offer of the hostage deal"
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According to a senior source in the organization, it has heard clarifications regarding some ambiguous clauses in the latest offer for the deal, and will now examine it and determine its position after these have been given. According to him, "there is a different atmosphere and conditions this time".

As a reminder, extended discussions will take place between an Egyptian security delegation and a Hamas delegation, as reported in Egyptian media networks. In the meantime, an Egyptian official claimed in a conversation with the AP news agency that Israel "is open to discussing the establishment of a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as part of the second phase of the deal." However, and perhaps contradicting this, it was noted that Israel refuses to end the war until Hamas is defeated.

In a report by the Saudi Al-Hadath, it is claimed that the Israeli delegation's visit to Cairo tomorrow depends on Hamas' response to the offer of the hostage deal. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said at the end of his meeting with American Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken in Saudi Arabia that they "are calling on Israel and Hamas to make concessions", and regarding the proposed deal he said that they "feel optimistic about the proposed proposal, and are waiting for the final decision of both sides".

According to the Egyptian proposal, the IDF forces will withdraw significantly from the Netzer corridor and the return of Gazans to the north of the Gaza Strip will be possible with freedom of movement on the central routes to the north. Also, the proposal includes a ceasefire that will include the release of hostages and the release of prisoners. A period of calm is without the release of abductees and prisoners. Hamas claims that recently, Egypt has become much more involved in negotiations regarding reaching a possible deal.

In the meantime, the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mustafa Madbouly, spoke about the fighting and said: "We condemn what happened on October 7 against Israeli citizens, but the consequences of what Israel is doing in Gaza are intolerable. What is happening in Gaza is a collective punishment for the Palestinians. It will take dozens years to return the situation in Gaza to the way it was before October 7. We must do our best to prevent Israeli military action in Rafah – any Israeli military action in Rafah will lead to disaster and end the Palestinian issue."

Let's recall that at the same time, Hamas and Fatah met in Beijing a few days ago with the aim of ending the conflict between them. In a report on Arab websites it was stated that Hamas is ready to disarm and become a political movement to enable the "establishment of a Palestinian state within the borders of 67", according to the reports In the pro-Qatari newspaper "Al-Arabi Al-Jadid" published in London.