Hamas will dispatch a delegation to Cairo today as talks over a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a deal to exchange Israeli captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners continue, Al Jazeera sources say.
According to an unnamed “senior official” of the group who spoke to AFP news agency, Hamas will not participate in this round of talks even though a delegation will be present in Cairo.
“The delegation will meet with senior Egyptian intelligence officials to be briefed on developments in the ongoing round of Gaza ceasefire talks … but this does not mean it will take part in the negotiations,” the unnamed Hamas official told AFP.
“Hamas has said from the beginning that it will not participate in this round of negotiations, which began last week in Doha,” the official said.
The expected arrival of the Hamas delegation follows what the US said was “progress” in long-stalled ceasefire negotiations.
However, as we’ve reported, major obstacles to a deal remain, particularly Israel’s demand to retain security control over several key Gaza corridors.
Source: AlJazeera
