Hamas appears intent on rejecting the changes to thelatest proposal from the United States for a ceasefire agreement with Israel and the release of hostages regarding the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphia corridor, which were to be transmitted to the Palestinian group today by Egyptian mediators. Hamas official Osama Hamdan told the Lebanese agency Al Mayadeen that the group calls for “practical steps” on what was previously agreed, rather than ongoing negotiations.
Hamas’s accusation against the US
The outlet, which is affiliated with the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah, ‘The Times of Israel’ also quotes Hamdan as saying accuses the United States of wanting to spread positive messages about the negotiations to boost Vice President Kamala Harris’s election campaign. “We refuse to receive information from the media, and we have already informed the mediators that we are waiting to hear from them that Israel has accepted what was announced,” the Hamas official said. “We are faced with two options: if it accepts the initiative, we will discuss the implementation phase, otherwise we will inform our position,” he added.
Israel’s Position, the ‘Philadelphi’ Knot
A high-level Israeli delegation meanwhile met with negotiators in Cairo this week for talks focused on finding a formula for the deployment of IDF troops along the Gaza-Egypt border that Tel Aviv and Cairo could agree on. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on an Israeli presence on the Philadelphia Corridor – the buffer zone separating Egypt from Israel and the Gaza Strip – It is vital to prevent Hamas from rearmingwhile Hamas and Egypt want to see Israeli forces withdraw completely.
Hamas delegation in Cairo
A Hamas delegation will travel to Cairo today, where negotiations resumed on Thursday evening, sources cited by al-Jazeera said. The director of the CIA, William Burns, is also in the Egyptian capital, while the White House has spoken of “glimmers” of a possible agreement.
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