NEW YORK, February 13. /TASS/. Representatives of Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas have made progress in talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages, the Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted informed officials as saying.

A senior Egyptian official said mediators had made "relatively significant" progress in talks between Israel and Hamas ahead of a meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Cairo between representatives of Israel, Qatar and the US. He said the goal of the upcoming meeting would be to "develop a final draft" on a six-week cease-fire agreement. It also includes guarantees of continued negotiations on a permanent truce between the parties.

Another source from the Western diplomatic corps in Egypt confirmed that a six-week truce was indeed on the table, but "more work is still needed to reach an agreement." He noted that Tuesday's upcoming meeting "would be crucial in bridging the remaining gaps," so that both sides agree on the six-week truce and start negotiating a final ceasefire agreement.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.

In late November 2023, Hamas announced an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, on a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which took effect on November 24. The deal stipulated the release of Israeli women and children being held hostage in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons. The sides extended the ceasefire several times but on the morning of December 1 the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas had violated the truce in Gaza and opened fire on Israeli territory, thus prompting the IDF to resume combat operations in the Gaza Strip.

During the week-long humanitarian pause, according to the Israeli authorities, 110 hostages held in Gaza since October 7 were released.