Hamas drops key terms in talks with Israel / IDF denies it will drop Rafah invasion following hostage deal

Hamas leadership approves implementation of first phase of hostage deal, senior Hamas official says The Jerusalem Post.

Hamas will soon announce that it has agreed to the Egyptian mediation proposal, according to Arab media on Saturday.

Egypt’s “Al-Rad” channel reported that Hamas had dropped the condition of a cease-fire in the first phase of a hostage deal. According to the report, Hamas waived this condition in the first stage of mediation, with the hostage mediators’ guarantees.

The Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds reported that the announcement would be made within days, while the Al-Sharq newspaper, close to the Qatari government, reported that it would be made within hours.

“In light of recent contacts with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar, the Hamas delegation will head to Cairo [sâmbătă] to complete the talks,” Hamas quoted Al-Sharq as saying.

The Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday morning, reports the Saudi Asharq newspaper. Hamas also said its main objective would be to achieve a national consensus and rebuild the governance of the Gaza Strip.

It was also reported that in recent hours, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas have held talks over the number of prisoners to be released under the deal.

Hamas, according to the Al-Quds report, also received US guarantees for a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of FDI from the Gaza Strip in the third phase of the agreement.

Hamas also reportedly said a permanent ceasefire was not needed as a precondition for negotiations because it still held senior officers hostage and would be able to use them as leverage in talks for a longer ceasefire.

The IDF denied it would abandon an invasion of Rafah following a hostage deal, telling Israeli media: “As politicians have decided, the IDF will enter Rafah and destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there, whether or not there is a ceasefire temporary ceasefire for the release of our hostages”.

Political officials agreed, saying the hostage deal was unrelated to the Rafah invasion and that the invasion would take place regardless of the deal’s success.

A senior Hamas official confirmed this to N12 on Saturday morning, saying Hamas leaders had approved the implementation of the first phase of the hostage deal.

According to the report, the change appears to be caused by assurances from the US, Qatar and Egypt that Israel will fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip by the end of the deal.

Citing Arab media reports, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that a senior Saudi official confirmed that Hamas was satisfied with the American guarantees.

The N12 report notes that the same source said CIA Director William Burns will return to Cairo on Saturday and meet with the Hamas negotiation team.

The source went on to say that part of the assurances were that Israel would not enter Rafah at any point in the deal.

He also confirmed that compromises had been reached on the number of Palestinian hostages and prisoners

Amid conflicting reports on whether or not an Israeli operation in Rafah could take place should Hamas accept a hostage-taking proposal, Y-Net, citing an Al Jazeera interview with a senior Hamas official , Osama Hamdan, reported that the Islamist organization was confused by Israeli rhetoric.

“Unfortunately, there was a clear statement from Netanyahu that no matter what might happen, whether there will be a ceasefire or not – he will order the Rafah operation,” Hamdan said. “This means there will be no ceasefire and fighting will continue, which is contrary to what we are discussing. We want to understand what he means. Our understanding is that any ceasefire agreement means that there will be no more attacks in Gaza.”

“Today’s results will be different. We have reached an agreement on many points, and some points remain,” an Egyptian security source told Reuters.

A Palestinian official familiar with the mediation efforts expressed cautious optimism.

“Things are looking better this time, but whether a deal is within reach will depend on whether Israel has provided what is needed to make it happen,” the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters , he told Reuters.