Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for talks on the situation in Gaza, the Palestinian Islamist movement said, as Hamas and Israel increasingly sent signals for a new ceasefire in the war.
• Also read: Israel: Investigation launched into deaths in custody of Palestinians arrested in Gaza
• Also read: Ceasefire in Gaza: New attempt in the UN Security Council
Mr. Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, came to Cairo “for talks with Egyptian officials on developments in Zionist aggression in the Gaza Strip and many other issues,” Hamas said in a statement .
On Tuesday, a source within the movement told AFP that Mr Haniyeh would meet Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel for talks “on ending the aggression and war, preparing an agreement to release prisoners and ending the siege”. become the Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad source told AFP on Wednesday that the leader of this armed movement, the second largest in the Gaza Strip, Ziad al-Nakhala, would also travel to Cairo for talks early next week.
On the Israeli side, President Isaac Herzog said Tuesday that Israel was “ready for a new humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian assistance to enable the release of the hostages.”
At a meeting with the hostages' families on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had recently “sent the head of the Mossad to Europe twice to advance a liberation process.”
Egypt and Qatar took part in the negotiations that led to a week-long ceasefire in late November in which 80 Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip were exchanged for 240 Palestinians detained by Israel.
Before arriving in Cairo, Mr. Haniyeh met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Doha, the capital of Qatar, according to images released by Tehran.