Gaza Strip: A senior Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group was sending a delegation to Cairo on Saturday but that they would not attend Gaza ceasefire talks in the Egyptian capital.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have for months tried to reach a deal to end more than 10 months of war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.
“The delegation will meet with senior Egyptian intelligence officials to be briefed on developments in the ongoing round of Gaza ceasefire talks... but this does not mean it will take part in the negotiations,” the Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk publicly on the issue.
“Hamas has said from the beginning that it will not participate in this round of negotiations, which began last week in Doha.”
Hamas’s decision to send a delegation to Cairo comes after the United States said progress had been made at the latest round of talks.
Previous optimism during months of on-off truce talks has proven unfounded, and this time Israel’s insistence on keeping troops on the Egyptian border has emerged as a key sticking point.
The Hamas official said the Islamist group insisted that Israel withdraws its forces from across Gaza, including “from the border area with Egypt” — a zone known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on keeping the troops along the corridor between Egypt and Gaza.
On Friday, the White House said CIA chief William Burns was among US officials taking part in the discussions in Cairo, joining the heads of Israel’s spy agency and security service.
“The discussions are taking place in Cairo... in preparation for an enlarged round of negotiations which will begin on Sunday,” an Egyptian source close to negotiations told AFP on Friday.
“Washington is discussing with mediators’ new proposals to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas and for mechanisms to implement” the plan.
Hamas official says delegates going to Cairo but won’t attend Gaza talks
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Hamas official says delegates going to Cairo but won’t attend Gaza talks
UN chief condemns Israeli law blocking electricity, water for UNRWA facilities
- The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move would “further impede” the agency’s ability to operate and carry out activities.
“The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), its property and assets, and to its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said while adding that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the world body.
UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini also condemned the move, saying that it was part of an ongoing “ systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” the role it plays in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees.
In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
As a result, UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The prohibition of basic utilities to the UN agency came as Israel also suspended of dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza due to a failure to meet new rules to vet those groups.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday such a move would have a severe impact on the access of essential services, including health care. They said one in three health care facilities in Gaza would close if international NGO operations stopped.
