Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
26 Apr 2025 14:52

A Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo to discuss a Gaza ceasefire, prisoner exchange, humanitarian aid, and a five-year truce as part of a comprehensive peace deal.

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Hamas fighters stand in formation ahead of a ceremony to hand over Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, on February 22, 2025. (AP)

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has announced the arrival of a high-level delegation, led by the Chairman of the Movement's Leadership Council, Mohammad Darwish, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

In a statement released on Saturday, Hamas confirmed that the delegation has commenced talks with Egyptian officials to present and negotiate its vision for halting the Israeli war on Gaza. Discussions include a prisoner exchange as part of a comprehensive deal calling for a full withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces and the reconstruction of Gaza.

The delegation will also discuss the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, underscoring the critical urgency of facilitating the swift entry of humanitarian aid, particularly essential supplies such as food and medicine, to alleviate the suffering of civilians in the besieged Strip.

In addition, the delegation is engaging in talks on the establishment of a Community Support Committee to oversee governance and essential services in Gaza, while also reviewing recent internal Palestinian developments and exploring strategies to address ongoing political and social challenges.

Meanwhile, AFP, citing a Hamas official, reported that the movement has expressed readiness to accept a comprehensive deal to end the war, which would involve the immediate release of all remaining captives and the implementation of a five-year truce aimed at stabilizing the situation in Gaza.

“Hamas is ready for a single-batch prisoner exchange and a five-year truce,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The movement has firmly maintained that any truce must result in the complete end of the war, the total withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, and the prompt and adequate delivery of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian enclave.

Nowhere left to run: Gaza faces relentless bombardment, starvation

Concurrently, the Israeli military has intensified its assault on the Gaza Strip, continuing the campaign of genocide against the Palestinian population.

A barrage of airstrikes, artillery shelling, and drone attacks has resulted in dozens of casualties across the enclave, particularly in the northern, central, and southern regions.

Intensifying the already dire situation, the Israeli occupation military issued an evacuation order for Palestinians residing in the northern areas of al-Turkman, al-Jadida, and northeastern al-Zaytun, ahead of a planned strike.

On Friday, the Civil Defense in Gaza announced the recovery of 11 additional bodies from the rubble of a residential home bombed by Israeli invading forces a day earlier in the Ard Halawa area of Jabalia, in northern Gaza. The death toll from that single airstrike now stands at 23 martyrs.

According to Al Mayadeen's correspondent, at least 80 people, most of them children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes from early Thursday through the early hours of Friday.

WFP says it has run out of food in Gaza

Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced Friday that it has fully exhausted its food supplies for families in Gaza.

“Today, WFP delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens in the Gaza Strip. These kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days,” the UN agency stated.

For weeks, these hot meals kitchens have served as the only consistent source of food aid for the population. Although they reached only half of Gaza’s residents and met just 25% of their daily nutritional needs, they remained a critical lifeline, WFP noted.

“The situation inside the Gaza Strip has once again reached a breaking point," WFP warned. "People are running out of ways to cope, and the fragile gains made during the short ceasefire have unravelled.”ress made during the brief ceasefire has been lost.”

The agency called on all parties to prioritize the needs of civilians, allow the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.