A meeting between Hamas and regional mediators regarding Gaza, originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Egypt, has been postponed until Sunday, according to a source close to the movement. Hamas has called for an end to Israel’s ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting had been planned in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El Alamein and was expected to include a Hamas delegation led by the group’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, alongside representatives from other Palestinian factions, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as mediators from Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar.
A source familiar with the negotiations said that Hamas and other Palestinian factions are expected to begin consultative meetings in Cairo on Saturday.
The source added that an agreement had been reached with the mediators to launch a new round of discussions beginning Sunday, involving Hamas, other Palestinian factions, and the mediating parties.
According to the source, Hamas requested the postponement, arguing that the talks would not be productive given what it described as “Israeli intransigence.”
A ceasefire in Gaza was announced on 10 October following a devastating war that lasted more than two years. However, the agreement remains fragile, with the territory continuing to experience near-daily Israeli strikes that have caused casualties and further destruction.
Last week, Israel killed Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed commander of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, after his predecessor had also been killed earlier this month.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 936 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began.
Hamas spokesperson Taher Al-Nono said the movement is engaged in “intensive consultations” with mediators to ensure that the negotiations produce tangible results.
He stressed that mediators should compel Israel to halt its attacks and accelerate the deployment of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a body composed of 15 Palestinian experts tasked with temporarily managing the territory under the supervision of the Peace Council, chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Washington announced in January that the ceasefire had entered its second phase under a U.S.-brokered peace plan.
This phase calls for the disarmament of Hamas, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the deployment of an international stabilization force in the Palestinian territories. Hamas, however, has rejected disarmament under the conditions proposed by Israel.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israeli military to take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip.
Source: AFP
