CAIRO: A high-level Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday to meet Egyptian officials. The delegation will discuss the blockade of Gaza and achieving national reconciliation with the Fatah movement.
Hamas has sought to improve relations with Egypt in the past few months. This week’s visit includes the group’s head, Yahya Al-Sunwar, and head of the political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, on his first foreign visit since being elected to the post last May.
The talks, according to a statement from Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum, will cover the mechanisms for allowing entry into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, in addition to mending a longstanding rift with rival group, Fatah.
Senior Hamas member, Mousa Abu Marzook, told the local Egyptian Al-Shorouk newspaper, “Hamas has always welcomed Egypt’s leading role.”
Regarding the Rafah border, Abu Marzook said: “We understand that opening the crossing is solely an Egyptian decision but we hope it will be opened on a regular basis in order to allow the passage of people and goods.”
He also said the talks would discuss the stringent measures taken by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas against the movement ruling the Gaza Strip.
Egypt’s state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper said Sunday that a delegation headed by the former Fatah leader, Mohammed Dahlan, is expected to join the meetings in Cairo.
Hamas’ leadership has been in talks with Mohammed Dahlan, the exiled former Fatah leader in Gaza who was defeated by Hamas when it took control of the territory in 2007.
The group hopes Dahlan can persuade Egypt to come to the aid of the people of Gaza who are struggling under the decade-long Israeli blockade which has been supported by successive Egyptian governments.
On whether the delegation will meet Dahlan on the Cairo visit, Abu Marzook was quoted as saying, “This issue is not on the agenda of the delegation.”
“The visit to Egypt could represent a message from Hamas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that they are open to overtures by the Dahlan supporters,” political analyst Mohammed Gomaa told Arab News.
Hoping to pressure Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza, Abbas has cut payments to Israel for the electricity it supplies to Gaza. This means that electricity has often been provided for less than four hours a day, and never more than six.
Abbas has vowed to maintain sanctions on Gaza, saying the measures are aimed against Hamas and not ordinary people. In turn, Hamas is trying to make a crack in the wall of sanctions by improving its relations with Egypt and other Arab countries.
Top Hamas leaders visit Egypt for national reconciliation
Top Hamas leaders visit Egypt for national reconciliation
Elderly Palestinian shot dead in Rafah
- Death toll from Israel’s aggression on Gaza rises to 71,795 since start of assault in October 2023
GAZA: An elderly Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire in Rafah on Sunday afternoon, bringing the number of fatalities since morning to two, according to local and medical sources.
The sources reported that Khaled Hammad Dahleez, 63, was shot dead by an Israeli drone northwest of Rafah.
Earlier in the day, another man was killed and several others injured in a drone strike north of Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian News Agency reported.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the war-ravaged enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11, the number of people killed has risen to 523, with 1,433 injuries recorded, while 715 bodies have been recovered during the same period.
Medical sources said on Sunday the death toll from Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip had risen to 71,795 Palestinians killed and 171,551 injured since the start of the assault in October 2023.
The sources reported that 26 fatalities and 68 injuries were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 48 hours, noting that numerous victims were trapped under rubble or in the streets, with ambulance and rescue crews unable to reach them.
The ceasefire’s first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, a surge in humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.
The second phase is more complicated. It calls for installing a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, and taking steps to begin rebuilding.
Hamas has so far rejected disarmament and Israel has repeatedly indicated that if the Islamist militant group is not disarmed peacefully, it will use force to make it do so.
