Hamas chief in Egypt for talks on Gaza truce
The leader of Hamas travelled to Egypt on Wednesday as hopes grew that Israel and the Palestinian militant group may be inching toward another truce and hostage release deal in the Gaza war. The Qatar-based Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo for discussions on the "aggression in the Gaza Strip and other matters," the group said in a statement. He was due to meet Egypt's spy chief for talks on "stopping the aggression and the war to prepare an agreement for the release of prisoners," said a source close to the group.  Haniyeh – who earlier met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Qatar – was heading a "high-level delegation" to Egypt, a frequent mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, the source said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told hostage families late on Tuesday that he had twice sent his spy chief to Europe in efforts intended to "free our hostages." "It's our duty, I'm responsible for the release of all the hostages," the premier told the relatives of some of the 129 captives still believed to be held in Gaza. "Saving them is a supreme task. "I have just sent the head of Mossad to Europe twice to promote a process to free our hostages. I will spare no effort on the subject, and our duty is to bring them all back." US news site Axios reported on Monday that Mossad chief David Barnea had met CIA director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe. Qatar, backed by Egypt and the United States, helped broker a week-long truce in November in which 80 Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. A source close to Hamas said the Egypt talks would focus on proposals including a week-long truce that would see the release of 40 Israeli hostages, including women, children and male non-combatants. The truce would be open to extension if there is agreement on new conditions for further releases, the source said, adding that the proposals had been discussed between Qatar and Israel with the knowledge of the US administration. The war began when Hamas militants burst out of Gaza on October 7, killing around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250, according to a tally based on Israeli figures. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel began a campaign of bombardment, and then a ground invasion, that Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says have killed 19,667 people, mostly women and children. (AFP)