A Palestinian source familiar with the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that he expects the Hamas negotiating delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, to arrive in Cairo on Saturday at Egypt's invitation to discuss ideas that could lead to an agreement to consolidate the ceasefire.

The source stated that meetings will be held with Egyptian officials to discuss the latest developments related to Egypt and Qatar's efforts to reach an agreement. He emphasized that the movement has expressed its willingness to reach an agreement on the exchange of prisoners and detainees and to complete the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, "but we hope the occupation will not obstruct the current mediators' efforts."

The source indicated that reaching an agreement "is possible if the occupation agrees," explaining that Hamas has agreed to the latest Egyptian-Qatari proposal.

The source confirmed that Hamas "has flexibility and a willingness to agree to any new proposal regarding prisoners, provided it includes a cessation of hostilities, a transition to the second phase, and the completion of implementation of the humanitarian protocol."

Separately, a leading Hamas source said in a statement that the movement "has not received any new ceasefire offers, and that it agreed to the last proposal it received from the mediators. It announced this clearly before Eid al-Fitr, and since then, no new proposals have been presented to it."

He expressed the movement's openness to any new proposals that would "achieve a ceasefire, withdraw the occupation forces, and end the suffering of our Palestinian people."

Mediators' proposal

According to sources, mediators have proposed new ideas over the past week to release eight live detainees and eight corpses, in exchange for Israel releasing between 180 and 220 prisoners serving life sentences and long prison terms.

More than 2,000 Gaza detainees arrested by Israel after October 7, 2023, and the extension of the truce from 50 to 70 days, with the second phase issues to be discussed in the second week of the agreement's entry into force.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States is "close" to reaching an agreement to release the remaining detainees in Gaza and reactivate the ceasefire.

Trump explained: "We are communicating with Israel and Hamas... and we are close to returning the detainees from Gaza."

US envoy Steve Witkoff and Egyptian mediators are trying to reach an interim agreement that satisfies both Israel and Hamas, according to Axios.

Israeli officials told the US website that the chances of reaching an agreement within the next two weeks have improved significantly, but significant gaps remain.

Israel resumed its war on Gaza on March 18, launching airstrikes across the Strip and launching a new ground operation aimed at reoccupying 25% of Gaza's territory.

Over the past four weeks, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, have not yielded any breakthrough in the talks.

Israel rejected the latest offer presented by Hamas, which included a 50-day ceasefire during which five detainees would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as well as the resumption of humanitarian aid, which Israel had cut off to pressure the movement.

Hamas' proposal also stipulated the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas recently reoccupied in Gaza and the commencement of serious negotiations to end the war.

But Israel rejected the offer, demanding the release of 11 living detainees and the return of the remains of 16 others who died in detention.