US Secretary of State Blinken plans to visit Egypt on the 11th
The Associated Press reported, citing an Egyptian official, that the Israeli negotiating team for the release of Hamas kidnapped hostages arrived in Cairo, Egypt on the 10th.
Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, is mediating a negotiation plan to exchange and release Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and to achieve a temporary ceasefire.
About 250 hostages were taken to Gaza during the surprise invasion by Hamas on October 7 last year, and 105 were released during the first seven days of a temporary ceasefire in late November. About 120 people, including 25 bodies, are still detained in Gaza.
It has been one month and ten days since the temporary ceasefire ended. Negotiations for additional releases were underway in Cairo, but were halted last week when Hamas’ third-ranking figure, Saleh al-Nouri, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon.
Negotiations appear to have resumed. However, Hamas still insists that it will only begin talks on releasing the hostages when Israel ends the war. This is a demand that Israel immediately rejects.
In addition, Ismail Haniyeh, the number one Hamas leader who came to Cairo at the end of last year to negotiate hostages and then returned to Qatar, said on the 9th, “If all our prisoners are not released, Israel will never be able to take hostages.”
There are close to 8,000 people currently imprisoned in Israeli prisons or simply held in administrative detention without charge. During the first exchange release, 240 prisoners and detainees were released.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who was expected to visit Egypt on the 10th, is said to visit the West Bank and Bahrain on the 10th and visit Egypt on the 11th.
On the afternoon of the 10th, the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and the West Bank are scheduled to meet in Jordan.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.