GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Palestinian militant group Hamas said Friday its delegation will travel to Cairo on Saturday to resume talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza war with a “positive spirit”.
“The Hamas delegation will head to Cairo tomorrow, Saturday, to continue the talks,” the group said in a statement posted on its website.
“We emphasise the positive spirit with which the Hamas leadership dealt with the ceasefire proposal it recently received, and we are going to Cairo in the same spirit to reach an agreement.”
“We in Hamas and the Palestinian resistance forces are determined to achieve an agreement that fulfils our people’s demands for a complete cessation of the aggression, the withdrawal of the occupation forces, the return of the displaced, relief and reconstruction, and a serious exchange deal,” the statement said.
A senior Hamas official said that a top leader in the group, Khalil al-Hayya, will lead the delegation.
Mediators the United States, Egypt, and Qatar have waited for a Hamas response to an Israeli proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, which its chief Ismail Haniyeh had earlier said the group was considering in a “positive spirit”.
