CAIRO, May 4. /TASS/. Hamas has said it will send a delegation to the Egyptian capital city of Cairo on May 4 to finalize the Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel.
"Hamas has analyzed the ceasefire proposal and responded to it positively. It is setting off for Cairo to reach an agreement," it said in statement posted on its Telegram channel.
According to Hamas, Palestine’s resistance "is determined to finish the deal in a way satisfying the Palestinian people’s demands for a complete cessation of [Israeli] aggression, the return of displaced persons to their homes, humanitarian assistance, the restoration of the ruined enclave, and the finalization of the serious deal of the exchange" of hostages held by radicals in Gaza for Palestinians serving prison terms in Israel.
It was reported earlier in the day that delegations from Egypt, Israel, Qatar, the United States, and the Hamas Palestinian radical movement will hold a series of meetings in Cairo on May 4 in an effort to reach a deal on the swap of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. According to the Al Hadath television channel, Hamas has accepted two stages of the settlement plan and the upcoming meeting will mainly focus on the third stage outlining the conditions for the cessation of hostilities in the Palestinian enclave. It also reported that CIA director Willian Burns would take part in the negotiating process in the Egyptian capital.
Gaza settlement talks
On Thursday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said during a phone call with Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate Abbas Kamel that a Hamas delegation will soon return to Cairo to continue consultations on ways to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Qahera al-Ekhbariya reported on April 29, citing its sources, that the Hamas delegation had left Cairo after another round of talks, which lasted for one day, and planned to return soon with a written response to the latest ceasefire proposal advanced by Egypt.
On April 27, Egypt handed over to Hamas a proposal, agreed upon with the Israeli side, that provided for the release of from 20 to 40 hostages held by radicals in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a ceasefire in the enclave. According to an Al-Qahera al-Ekhbariya source, the deal with Israel is likely to be reached "within several days, even despite some reservations.".