CAIRO, Egypt: Hamas is set to send a delegation to Qatar this week to continue indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel through mediators, as the Palestinian group readies a formal response to the latest Israeli proposal, according to officials cited by international media.
A senior Hamas official, speaking to AFP on Tuesday, said the group would “most likely” issue its response to the Israeli proposal “within the next 48 hours.”
The official said that internal consultations are ongoing “within its leadership framework, as well as with resistance factions, in order to formulate a unified position.”
The ceasefire talks have been mediated by Qatar and Egypt with the support of the United States and have recently resumed in Cairo.
During the negotiations, parties have reviewed a proposed framework under which Hamas could release 8 to 10 hostages held in Gaza.
However, a major point of contention remains unresolved: whether any new deal would include a permanent end to the war.
Hamas is reportedly pushing for an end to the Israeli war as part of the agreement, a condition that Israel has so far resisted.
A Hamas official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions, told AFP on Monday that the upcoming round of negotiations is expected to take place later this week or early next week in Qatar.
Officials from Israel and Qatar have not issued any statements on the matter.
The talks follow the collapse of an earlier ceasefire agreement that had been held from January to March.
That truce, which lasted eight weeks, was initially intended to pave the way toward a negotiated end to the war.
However, Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza last month, citing its objective of defeating Hamas before a permanent ceasefire.
Since the collapse of the ceasefire, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated significantly.
According to the United Nations, Israel has imposed a complete blockade on aid entering the coastal enclave since 2 March.
“No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Monday, warning that the crisis is now likely “the worst” since Israel launched its military operation on 7 October 2023.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Monday that at least 38 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.
The ministry states that over 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire ended in March and the total death toll since October 2023 has now reached nearly 51,000, with more than half of the fatalities being women and children.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that a Palestinian medic was detained during an Israeli military operation on 23 March in southern Gaza.
That operation, according to local health officials, resulted in the deaths of 15 first responders.
The ICRC stated it had not been granted access to visit the medic and did not disclose how it verified his detention. The Israeli military has not commented on the incident.
The Israeli army had initially claimed that its troops fired on suspicious vehicles travelling without headlights.
However, video evidence later emerged showing clearly marked ambulances moving with sirens on at the time of the attack.
The military subsequently changed its account, stating that nine Hamas fighters were believed to be using the ambulances—a claim for which it has not yet provided conclusive evidence.
The military has named one alleged fighter, but the name does not match any of the known paramedics killed, and no bodies have been recovered.
The Israeli military says it is continuing its investigation into the incident.
