Hamas negotiators arrive in Cairo for Gaza truce talks; CIA chief also present
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Hamas negotiators arrive in Cairo for Gaza truce talks; CIA chief also present
CAIRO (Reuters) - Hamas negotiators arrived in Cairo on Saturday for intensified talks on a possible Gaza truce that would see the return to Israel of some hostages, a Hamas official told Reuters, with the CIA director already present for the indirect diplomacy.
Egypt's state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV channel also confirmed the arrival of the Hamas delegation in Cairo.
"The results today will be different. We have reached an agreement over many points, and a few point remain," one Egyptian security source told Reuters.
A Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediation efforts sounded cautious optimism.
"Things look better this time but whether an agreement is on hand would depend on whether Israel has offered what it takes for that to happen," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
The Hamas delegation arrived from the Palestinian Islamist movement's headquarters in Qatar, which, along with Egypt, has tried to mediate a follow-up to a brief November ceasefire.
Washington - which, like other Western powers and Israel, brands Hamas a terrorist group - has urged it to enter a deal.
The talks have stumbled, however, over Hamas' long-standing demand for a commitment to end the almost seven-month-old offensive by Israel, which insists that after any truce it would resume operations designed to disarm and dismantle the faction.
"Israel will under no circumstances agree to ending the war as part of a deal to free our hostages," an Israeli official said on Saturday, signalling this core position was unchanged.
