Egyptian media reported today, Thursday, that there are signs that an agreement is maturing in the ongoing negotiations in the capital, Cairo, regarding reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip.

This came according to what was reported by the “Cairo News” channel, quoting an informed Egyptian source whose name was not mentioned.

The source stated that Egypt is continuing its efforts to achieve a ceasefire, and there are signs that the agreement is maturing.

He added: "Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front are participating in the negotiations and are open to the maturity and success of the Egyptian effort to reach an agreement."

The same source pointed out that the controversial points are being resolved during the negotiations, which will be completed today, Thursday.

In this context, CNN quoted an informed source as saying that US Intelligence Director William Burns returned to Cairo after meetings in Tel Aviv on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the Israeli Mossad, David Bernig. The US intelligence director arrived in the region late last week and is conducting a quick tour of the region as part of his attempt to put the final touches on a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. After landing first in Cairo, he moved to Doha, then to Cairo, then to Tel Aviv, from where he returned again to Cairo.

Earlier, the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz" quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying that Burns and Netanyahu "discussed the possibility of Israel halting its operations in Rafah, in exchange for the release of the hostages." In turn, the Hebrew "Walah" website quoted another unnamed Israeli official as saying that "there are still major gaps in the negotiations regarding the hostage deal in Gaza." But he pointed out that "the Israeli delegation will remain in Cairo to try to fill these gaps, and will make a great effort to reach an agreement." He added: "There is a very broad mandate for the negotiating team, and a great effort is being made to try to fill the gaps."

The source claimed that "Hamas' position exceeds all the red lines set by Israel, and does not allow for progress." He continued: "Israel will continue its plans regarding Rafah, and at the same time it will continue negotiations in Cairo." In turn, Reuters reported Israeli pessimism about the Gaza negotiations in Cairo, as an Israeli official told the agency that Tel Aviv does not see any sign of a breakthrough in the talks, but it is keeping its mid-level delegation of negotiators in Cairo currently.

On Monday, Israel rejected the three-stage proposal approved by Hamas, saying it was unacceptable because it included mitigating conditions. On the other hand, White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said that Hamas had submitted a modified proposal, and that the new text indicated that the remaining gaps could be “completely closed.” In his statements yesterday, Tuesday, he refrained from providing details regarding the conditions.

Regarding the progress of the negotiations in Cairo, a source in the Hamas movement told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Wednesday that the differences between the visions during the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, currently underway in Cairo, “have become simple and easy to bridge,” pointing out that reaching an agreement “ "It is coming soon, in light of the efforts made by the mediators." The source confirmed that Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is still evading to get rid of the pressure placed on him." He explained that "the items around which the disagreements revolve have decreased greatly and are now limited to Netanyahu's desire for a binding ceasefire to be in the second phase instead of the end of the first phase."

The source pointed out that "the Israeli side also insists that all prisoners released in the first stage, estimated at 33, be from the living only, not the bodies, and that the release of the bodies be in the third stage." The source stressed that the Hamas movement "deals with complete openness and positivity with the negotiations held in Cairo in order to reach an agreement." Today, Wednesday, a new round of negotiations took place in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on the text of a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza, to which Hamas informed Qatar and Egypt of its approval last Monday evening. The agreement proposal stipulates the implementation of an agreement in three stages, each of which lasts 42 days.