PALESTINE

Tue 05 Mar 2024 2:17 pm - Jerusalem Time

Talks in Cairo for a ceasefire in Gaza end without a breakthrough

Sources told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that a meeting between the delegation of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the head of Egyptian intelligence, and discussions over the past two days in Cairo with mediators regarding reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, did not result in a breakthrough.


For its part, Reuters reported that the talks hosted in Cairo between Hamas and mediators with the aim of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel ended without achieving a breakthrough.


Earlier today, an informed source in Hamas confirmed the movement’s position, which requires the occupation to stop its aggression against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid to enter without restrictions, in order for the movement to continue participating in negotiations regarding the exchange of prisoners.


The source - who requested not to be revealed - said in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net that the movement is considering suspending its participation in the negotiations as one of the options to respond to the continued aggression and the policy of starving citizens in the Gaza Strip.


He added that the movement showed great response to the mediation led by Qatar and Egypt, and that it sent its delegation to Cairo to participate in the negotiations, but "it is Israeli intransigence that fails the negotiation process every time."


For its part, Reuters quoted Hamas leader Bassem Naim as saying that the movement presented its proposal for a ceasefire agreement to the mediators during two days of talks, and is now awaiting a response from the Israelis, who were absent from this round.


Naim added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin, "Netanyahu does not want an agreement, and the ball is in the Americans' court" to pressure him to reach an agreement.


"impossible" condition

Israel refrains from commenting publicly on the Cairo talks. A source told Reuters earlier that Israel boycotted the talks because Hamas rejected its request to provide a list of names of all detainees still alive.


Naeem explained that this is impossible without a ceasefire first, given that the detainees are distributed throughout the war zone and are held by different factions.


There were hopes that the Cairo talks would be the last stop before reaching the first long-term ceasefire in the war, a 40-day truce during which dozens of detainees would be released and aid would be pumped into Gaza to prevent famine, before the month of Ramadan, which falls next week.


In the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas demands the nomination of 500 prisoners to be released, including life sentences and those with high sentences, in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli detainees, including civilians, the elderly, and female soldiers.


A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday to hold meetings with mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States to complete ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and an agreement to exchange prisoners and detainees with Israel, while Tel Aviv did not send a delegation to represent it.


Qatari mediation - with Egyptian-American support - succeeded in reaching a temporary humanitarian truce on November 24, which lasted for a week, during which 240 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of more than 100 detainees held by the resistance in Gaza, including about 80 Israelis.

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Talks in Cairo for a ceasefire in Gaza end without a breakthrough

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