GAZA: Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh will be visiting Egypt for talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and captives swap deal with Israel, said a source close to the Palestinian resistance group on Tuesday.
Israeli relentless bombardment has killed at least 19,667 Palestinians and injured more than 52,586 others in its brutal war on besieged Gaza, entering in its 75th day.
Haniyeh, based in Qatar, will lead a high-level delegation to Egypt, where he is expected to hold talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and others.
The discussions will be focused on stopping the Israeli aggression and to prepare an agreement for the release of captives and the end of the Gaza blockade.
Earlier, under a week-long truce deal last month that Qatar helped negotiate, supported by Egypt and the United States, 110 captives were released in exchange for 240 Palestinians languishing in Israeli jails.
Israel arrests thousands of Palestinians
Since October 7, Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians.
According to the Hamas source, the talks in Egypt will focus on the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the return of displaced persons to their home towns and villages in the north of besieged Palestinian enclave.
This would be Haniyeh’s second trip to Egypt since the war with Israel started on October 7. Earlier he visited Egypt in early November.
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The UN has said that some 1.87 million Palestinians, over 80 percent of Gaza’s population, have left their homes.
The Israeli raids have almost destroyed entire neighborhoods in northern Gaza. Israeli ground troops have been facing heavy resistance from Hamas fighters in the area.
Officials from the Gaza health ministry reported on Tuesday that at least 20 Palestinian civilians were killed, and three houses were destroyed in Israeli missiles and air strikes targeting the Rafah area in southern Gaza
