Fresh efforts to ...
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In this context, Hebrew-language sources have reported that David Barnea, the head of Mossad, has traveled to Cairo with representatives from Israel›s Shin Bet security agency and met with General Hassan Rashad, the head of Egypt›s intelligence agency. Meanwhile, it has been reported that a Hamas delegation, representing Khalil al-Haya, has also arrived in Egypt.
According to the Qatari website Al-Araby al-Jadid, the Hamas delegation›s visit to Egypt was at the request of Cairo and took place on Thursday, lasting around five hours. During the meeting, the Egyptian and American proposal for a truce was discussed.
Meanwhile, a Hamas official told AFP that the resistance movement is ready to stop the war if Israel commits to a truce, withdraws from the Gaza Strip, allows the return of refugees, implements a prisoner exchange, and sends aid.
The presence of Israeli and Hamas delegations in Cairo is apparently a preliminary step towards resuming official ceasefire negotiations in Doha, Qatar. Al-Araby al-Jadid reported that over the next few days, mediation and negotiation teams will travel to Doha to hold meetings with the participation of Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, Qatar›s prime minister and foreign minister, Hassan Rashad, head of Egypt›s intelligence agency, William Burns, head of the CIA, and David Barnea, head of Israel›s Mossad.
This comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who recently visited Israel and Saudi Arabia, met with the Emir of Qatar on Thursday in Doha. Previously, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also visited Doha as part of a regional diplomatic tour, discussing regional developments and the need for a ceasefire with Qatari officials. Araghchi›s tour also included visits to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Egypt, with the main item on agenda being negotiations to stop the war and establish a truce.