According to media reports, the fronts between Israel and the Islamist Hamas have hardened further in the indirect negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Israel will under no circumstances agree to an agreement that includes an Israeli commitment to end the war, the Times of Israel newspaper quoted an official briefed on the talks underway in Cairo as saying late Saturday evening. Arab media reports suggesting that Israel would give mediators guarantees that the war would end were false. Hamas continues to demand that Israel agree to end the war as a condition for an agreement, "thus thwarting the possibility of reaching an agreement."
Unlike Hamas, Israel is not currently sending a team to the indirect negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of further hostages in the Egyptian capital. Israel will only send a delegation to Cairo once Hamas has responded to a proposal for an agreement, the Israeli Kan broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing a government representative. An Israeli government spokesman declined to comment on the report when asked. If Hamas agrees to the proposed draft, Israel will send a delegation, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted a senior Israeli official as saying. Representatives of Hamas' political leadership arrived in Cairo from Qatar on Saturday to continue the talks.
Mediations and negotiations
The subject of the indirect negotiations, in which Egypt, Qatar and the USA are mediating, is a proposal that envisages the release of hostages held by Hamas and the cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip by Israel in several phases. Hamas continued to demand a comprehensive ceasefire, including a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. Israel, which has declared the complete destruction of Hamas as its goal, has so far firmly rejected this.
The United States asked Qatar to expel Hamas' political leadership from the country if the Islamist organization in Cairo does not agree to an agreement, the Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed official as saying on Saturday evening. The Gulf Emirate is ready to comply with the request if asked. However, the actual Hamas decision-makers are in the contested Gaza Strip and the mediators have no direct contact with them, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously said. "So it's a challenge to understand what they're thinking." The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre with more than 1,200 deaths that terrorists from Hamas and other groups carried out in Israel on October 7th last year.
