Hamas sends delegation to Egypt to discuss ceasefire agreement | World

Hamas announced this Sunday (28) that it will send a delegation to Cairo, Egypt, for a new attempt to reach an agreement with Israel for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the return of hostages still under the control of the terrorist group.

The delegation will discuss a new proposal that is on the table, a Hamas member told Reuters news agency. The proposal was developed by the agreement’s mediators — the governments of Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

“Hamas received the official response from the Zionist occupation to our position that had been sent to Egyptian and Qatari mediators on April 13,” Khalil Al-Hayya, number two of Hamas’s political wing in Gaza, said in a statement.

Initially, the mediators had proposed a permanent ceasefire that would lead to a gradual end to the war. In exchange, Hamas would return the approximately 130 hostages still under the group’s power.

Previous rounds of negotiations, which have been underway since the end of last year, failed to reach an agreement. O Hamas demands a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

Already the Israeli government offered a temporary ceasefire in exchange for Hamas releasing the approximately 130 hostages, in addition to more openness for the entry of humanitarian aid. But Israel has already stated that will not cease operations until it has achieved its objective of destroying Hamas.

Israel’s Foreign Minister said on Saturday that, if there is an agreement, he could suspend the planned raid on Rafahthe city in Israel’s far south where some 1.5 million Palestinians — more than half of Gaza’s total population — have been displaced.

Baby born from mother killed by bombing in Gaza dies

Also this Sunday, the president of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP), Mahmoud Abbas, said at a conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that only the United States could prevent Israel from attacking the border city of Rafah, in Gaza.

He called on the US to stop the invasion of Rafah.

“We call on the United States of America to ask Israel not to continue the attack on Rafah. America is the only country capable of stopping Israel from committing this crime,” Abbas said at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abbas also said he expects the attack to happen in the next few days.

Israel attacks northern Gaza again and calls for a new evacuation of civilians