Media: Hamas delegation to visit Cairo but will skip Gaza ceasefire talks

A senior Hamas official announced that the militant group will send a delegation to Cairo on August 24, but the delegates will not participate in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations taking place in the Egyptian capital.

Efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where a conflict between Israel and Hamas has persisted for over 10 months, have been ongoing, Caliber.Az reports referring to foreign media.

The Hamas official, speaking anonymously to journalists, stated, “The delegation will meet with senior Egyptian intelligence officials to receive updates on the current ceasefire discussions, but it will not be part of the negotiations.” The official clarified that Hamas had already decided against participating in this round of talks, which began last week in Doha.

The decision to send a delegation to Cairo follows recent reports of progress in the talks. However, past optimism about reaching a truce has often been dashed, with current discussions stalled over Israel's demand to maintain troops along the Egyptian border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

Hamas insists on the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, including the border area with Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Israeli troops will remain in the corridor.

On August 23, the White House confirmed that CIA chief William Burns is among US officials involved in the Cairo discussions, alongside leaders from Israel’s intelligence and security agencies. An Egyptian source indicated that the talks are setting the stage for a broader round of negotiations starting on August 25, with Washington working on new proposals to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas and establish implementation mechanisms for a potential agreement.