On the way to a truce in Gaza? What do we know about the ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel?

Peace talks continue in Cairo. A day after Hamas approved a truce proposal that Israel has not confirmed in its current form, representatives of the Palestinian Islamist movement traveled to the Egyptian capital on Tuesday to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and the Americans. All parties, including Israel, “agree to return to the negotiating table” to achieve a truce in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian media outlet Al-Qahera News, which is close to the intelligence services and revealed the meeting, reported Tuesday evening.

The presence of the Israeli delegation was not mentioned in these media during these discussions. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel had sent a delegation to Cairo. The Jewish leader explained in a statement that he was instructed to “continue to be firm on the conditions necessary for the release” of hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, as well as on the “necessary” conditions to guarantee Israel’s security.

For their part, Washington estimates that Israel and Hamas “should be able to fill the remaining gaps” to reach a ceasefire agreement. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he hoped an agreement would be reached “very soon.” He did not want to specify what shortcomings he was talking about.

Tanks in Rafah

The discussions come as the Israeli army deployed tanks to Rafah on Tuesday and took control of the border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip. A Hamas spokesman in Lebanon warned at a press conference in Beirut that there would be no ceasefire if the operation continued, Reuters reported.

The discussions also come a day after Hamas approved Egypt’s proposal. According to Khalil al-Hayya, the second spokesman for Hamas’s political branch in the Gaza Strip, the process consists of three stages, each lasting 42 days, and includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory, the return of displaced persons and the exchange of hostages held in the strip Gaza, vs. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for the purpose of a “permanent ceasefire.”

Israel had so far opposed a complete cessation of hostilities until Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, was defeated. The Islamist movement, which Israel, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization, for its part demands a final ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.