Hamas shows signs of progress in proposed hostage deal, waiving key conditions

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

The Egyptian "Al-Rad" channel reported that Hamas waived the condition for a cessation of fighting in the first phase of a hostage deal. According to the report, Hamas waived the condition in the first mediation stage, with the guarantees of hostage mediators. 

Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds reported that the announcement would come within days, while Qatari government-aligned newspaper Al-Sharq reported that it would come within hours.

"In light of recent contacts with the mediator brothers in Egypt and Qatar, the Hamas delegation will head to Cairo [on] Saturday to complete the discussions," Al-Sharq quoted Hamas as saying.

Hamas's delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday morning, Hamas told the Saudi newspaper Asharq on Saturday. Hamas also said its primary focus would be achieving national consensus and rebuilding the Strip.

It was also reported that in recent hours, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and Hamas have held discussions on the number of prisoners to be released in the deal. Hamas officials, Khalil Al-Hayya and Osama Hamdan, attend a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, November 21, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/ESA ALEXANDER)

Hamas, according to the Al-Quds report, also received American guarantees for a permanent cessation of the war and the withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip in the third phase of the deal.

Hamas also reportedly said that there is no need for a permanent ceasefire as a precondition of talks, as they still hold senior IDF officers hostage and will be able to use them as leverage in discussion of a more permanent ceasefire.

The IDF denied that it would forgo an invasion of Rafah due to a hostage deal, telling the Israeli media, "As decided by the politicians, the IDF will enter Rafah and destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there, whether or not there will be a temporary ceasefire for the release of our hostages."

Political officials agreed, saying that a hostage deal was not connected to a Rafah invasion and that the invasion would proceed regardless of the success of the agreement.

Hamas hints at approval of the deal

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

According to the report, the shift seems to be caused by guarantees from the US, Qatar, and Egypt that Israel would entirely withdraw from the Gaza Strip by the end of the deal.

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

The N12 report noted that the same source said that CIA Director William Burns would return to Cairo on Saturday and meet with the senior Hamas negotiating team.

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

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

Amid conflicting reports regarding whether or not an Israeli operation in Rafah could occur in the event of Hamas agreeing to a hostage deal proposal, Y-Net, citing an Al Jazeera interview with senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan, reported that the Islamist organization was confused by the 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 operation in Rafah," Hamdan said. "This means that there will be no ceasefire and that the 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."

"The results today will be different. We have reached an agreement over many points, and a few point remain," one Egyptian security source told Reuters.

A Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediation efforts sounded cautious optimism.

"Things look better this time but whether an agreement is on hand would depend on whether Israel has offered what it takes for that to happen," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

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