The Hamas delegation headed by Haniyeh concludes its visit to Egypt

Haniyeh heads a Hamas delegation to hold talks in Cairo (Al Jazeera - archive)

A delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), led by the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, concluded a visit to Egypt that lasted several days to discuss stopping the war in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on the Telegram platform - today, Friday - Hamas said that its delegation held “several meetings with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, and the assistants, where they discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip, stopping the brutal aggression against our people, and the return of the displaced to their places of residence, and relief and shelter, especially in the northern Strip.” And ways to achieve this.”

The statement added, "The prisoner exchange issue was discussed, as well as what the occupation is planning in Al-Aqsa Mosque in light of the occupation government's decision to prevent our people in the West Bank and the occupied interior from praying there during the month of Ramadan," according to the movement's statement.

Haniyeh arrived last Tuesday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, at the head of a delegation from Hamas, to hold “discussions with Egyptian officials” about the situation in the Gaza Strip in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression for about 5 months.

Haniyeh's visit came while negotiations were continuing, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, between Hamas and Israel in order to reach a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and in light of international and regional concerns about the danger of Tel Aviv expanding its military operations in the city of Rafah, adjacent to the Egyptian border, and crowded with displaced Palestinians.

Since the seventh of last October, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, which led to the death of more than 29,000 people and the injury of more than 68,000, in addition to the destruction of various cities and the displacement and starvation of the Strip’s population of about 2.2 million.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies