Hamas completed ceasefire negotiations, waiting for the results of negotiations with Israel

Hamas has completed ceasefire negotiations in Cairo and is now waiting to see what the mediators will bring over the weekend in talks with Israel, a Palestinian group official said on Friday, in what appears to be the most serious effort after weeks of negotiations to halt the fighting.

Mediators have intensified efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, hoping to prevent an Israeli attack on the city of Rafah in Gaza, where more than a million displaced people have found refuge on the southern edge of the enclave.

Israel is threatening to attack the city if a ceasefire agreement is not reached soon. Washington has urged its close ally not to do so, warning of enormous civilian casualties if an attack on the city proceeds.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Egyptian mediators in Cairo last week to discuss a ceasefire, his first visit to the Egyptian capital since December. Israel is expected to participate in talks in Paris this weekend with American, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators.

Two Egyptian security sources confirmed that Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel will travel to Paris on Friday for talks with Israelis, after concluding talks with Hamas leader Haniyeh on Thursday.

Israel has not publicly commented on the Paris negotiations.

A Hamas official, who requested not to be named, said that his group did not offer any new proposal in talks with the Egyptians but is waiting to see what the mediators will bring from their upcoming talks with the Israelis.

We discussed our proposal with them (the Egyptians), and we will wait until they return from Paris, said the Hamas official.

The last time similar talks were held in Paris, in early February, they produced a draft of the first extended ceasefire in the war, approved by Israel and the United States. Hamas responded with a counterproposal, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed as a “deception.”

Hamas, which is still believed to be holding more than 100 hostages captured in the October 7 attack on Israel that escalated the war, claims it will only release them as part of a ceasefire that ends with an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel says it will not withdraw until Hamas is eradicated, Reuters reports.