Israel is set to send a delegation to Cairo for talks with Hamas on a new ceasefire proposal aimed at securing the release of hostages held in Gaza as the conflict lingers on for nearly seven months now.

The delegation, composed of security officials, will depart on Tuesday to discuss the deal with Egyptian brokers, an Israeli government source told Xinhua.

A Hamas delegation left Egypt after the talks and will “return with a written response” to the latest truce proposal, according to Egyptian sources quoted by Al-Qahera News, a site also linked to Egyptian intelligence services.

Abdul Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas, said on Monday in a statement that “ensuring a permanent ceasefire is a fundamental cornerstone for moving towards the details of negotiations and the success of the agreement with the Israeli occupation.”

According to the Israeli state-owned Kan TV, in the revised proposal, Israel has agreed to reduce the number of hostages it demands to be released to 33.

Israel initially insisted that Hamas release a minimum of 40 hostages but altered its position upon learning that the actual number of surviving hostages was below 40.

Speaking on Monday at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt was hopeful about a proposal for a truce and the release of hostages, but awaiting responses from Israel and Hamas.

“We are hopeful the proposal has taken into account the positions of both sides, has tried to extract moderation from both sides, and we are waiting to have a final decision,” Shoukry said.

A Palestinian official close to mediation efforts told Reuters: “Things look better this time,” but declined to say whether an agreement was imminent.

Israel’s military operation to eradicate Hamas has killed at least 34,480 Palestinians and wounded 77,643, according to Gaza’s health authorities. It has displaced most of the Palestinian enclave’s 2.3 million people and laid much of the area to waste.

The campaign was triggered by the October 7 attack on Israel in which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The conflict has brought Gaza to the brink of famine, United Nations and humanitarian aid groups say, while reducing much of the territory to rubble and raising fears of a wider regional conflict.

High temperatures in crowded Rafah have turned makeshift shelters made from plastic tarps into sweltering ovens. The UN has warned of diseases spreading.

Source(s): CGTN

Negotiations over Israel’s upcoming offensive in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city of Rafah and efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal with Hamas were “very good” between Israeli officials and a high-level Egyptian delegation, media and sources said Friday.

The negotiations were “very good, focused, held in good spirits and progressed in all parameters,” a senior Israeli official told Israeli media Ynet.

“In the background, there are very serious intentions from Israel to move ahead in Rafah,” and the Egyptians are willing to exert pressure on Hamas to achieve a deal, the official was quoted as saying.

According to the Israeli official, Israel made a warning that it would not agree to foot-dragging by Hamas on the hostage deal to delay the military operation in Rafah, and he also mentioned that Israel had deployed reserve soldiers to the Gaza Strip.

According to Channel 12, the official added that Israel is prepared to make more “significant compromises,” such as permitting the evacuation of Gazan civilians in northern Gaza and removing its troops from a crucial corridor that divides Gaza.

Meanwhile, Egypt reportedly sent a high-level delegation, led by senior intelligence official Abbas Kamel, to Israel on Friday with the hope of brokering a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza.

Considerable progress has been achieved in bringing the views of the Egyptian and Israeli delegations closer together regarding reaching a truce in Gaza, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News TV reported.

In addition, two high-ranking Egyptian security officials confirmed to Xinhua news agency that the talks discussed Egypt’s “rescue initiative,” which aims to prevent any more escalations in the Strip and avoid the invasion of Rafah.

On Thursday, Israeli media reported that the country is expected to “soon” begin evacuating civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned ground attack.

Earlier Thursday, Israel’s wartime cabinet and security cabinet convened to discuss a possible assault on Rafah, a city previously considered a “safe zone” from the relentless Israeli bombardments, where about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have found refuge.

Source(s): CGTN

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China supports internal reconciliation among different factions of Palestine through dialogue, in a written interview with Al Jazeera Media Network published on Thursday.

The interview covers questions ranging from the Gaza crisis and the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the Taiwan question and China-U.S. relations.

As for the ongoing Gaza conflict, Wang said China will continue to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with Middle East countries and the whole international community to support the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights.

China also supports Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations at an early date and supports establishing the independent State of Palestine and realizing “the Palestinians governing Palestine,” Wang said.

“We call for a more broad-based, more authoritative and more effective international peace conference to set a timetable and a road map for the two-state solution, to promote comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question, and to ultimately realize peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine as well as harmony between the Arab and Jewish peoples,” he said.

Wang also said China is deeply concerned about the rising tensions in the Red Sea. “For quite some time, rising tensions in the Red Sea have affected important interests of regional countries, especially the littoral states. They have also heightened the overall security risk of the region and weighed on the global economic recovery.”

“We stand ready to coordinate more closely with regional countries and work together with the international community to continue with our constructive role in restoring peace and stability in the Red Sea at an early date,” Wang added.

In response to the escort mission by the Chinese Navy in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia, Wang said the mission is not related to the Red Sea situation but authorized by the UN Security Council.

Speaking of the Ukraine crisis, Wang said China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent, unequivocal and transparent, while elaborating on China’s efforts to promote a ceasefire and end the fighting.

“We will work with all parties constructively to promote political settlement of the crisis, and contribute more to regional tranquility and security and enduring world peace,” said the Chinese foreign minister.

In the interview, Wang once again said Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times, and the Taiwan question is entirely China’s internal affair.

“We will strive for peaceful reunification with the utmost effort and greatest sincerity. In the meantime, our bottom line is also clear: we will absolutely not allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way,” Wang said.

Answering questions about how China sees the U.S. election and the prospects of China-U.S. relations, Wang said the U.S. election is an internal affair of the United States, and China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries.

“The China-U.S. relationship cannot go back to its past. But it should, and can fully, have a bright future. China is ready to work with the United States to carry out more win-win cooperation, do more that benefits the whole world, and truly fulfill their respective responsibilities to the international community,” Wang said.

Source(s): CGTN