Posted on 12/09/24
| News Source: i24
A source in Cairo told the Qatari Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper on Monday that negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have reached "an advanced stage" after Hamas issued a preliminary list of Palestinian prisoners to Egyptian mediators, as well as a list of sick and elderly Israelis it would release in exchange. Israeli sources, however, deny the report.
"The details in the report on the progress of the negotiations are not correct."
The Qatari report said that committees on behalf of Hamas, Egypt, and Israel began discussing the details of a deal to release hostages. The source cited by the paper claimed that all parties involved in the negotiation are "serious in an unprecedented manner," as he defined it. Qatar, Turkey, and the United States are participating in overseeing the talks.
In addition, Hamas claims that it has asked other terror organizations in Gaza to gather information on captives they are holding. Without the IDF's withdrawal, however, there is difficulty reaching units holding the captives, the report said – "The organizations need enough time – and there should be no presence of drones in the sky - to determine which captives are alive and to know where the bodies of dead captives are located."
The report also stated that an Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo in the coming hours to discuss some of the proposed points for reaching a deal, including a proposal to categorize the key matters and which areas the IDF will withdraw during the agreement period, which is supposed to be a transitional agreement that paves the way for a permanent ceasefire and end to the war.
The deal is expected to include the release of four abductees who hold US citizenship, despite them not meeting the conditions of the transition phase agreement - meaning, they are not part of the humanitarian deal.
Experts from Egypt who are familiar with the matter have highlighted that there is optimism about reaching an agreement ahead of the inauguration of US President-Elect Donald Trump. The report also said that Hamas agreed that the transitional period within the deal would last 60 days, during which humanitarian aid including food, medicine, and fuel would enter Gaza.