Leader Khalil Al-Hayya will head the Hamas delegation to Cairo (Anadolu Agency)

Today, Sunday, a delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is heading to Cairo, in response to an Egyptian invitation to discuss ceasefire developments in the Gaza Strip. CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo at a time when American pressure is increasing on Israel to reach an agreement and conclude an exchange deal.

Hamas stated, in a statement, that the delegation traveling to Cairo will be headed by Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of the movement in the Gaza Strip, and affirmed its adherence to its position that it presented on March 14, which represents a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, and the return of... The displaced people to their places of residence, freedom of movement of people, relief and shelter, in addition to a serious prisoner exchange deal.

A leading source in the movement told Al Jazeera that intensive contacts took place during the last hours between the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and the mediators, to resume the negotiating round in Cairo, which will witness the participation of officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Israel.

The source indicated that Haniyeh assured the mediators that any new negotiating round must begin on the basis of a permanent ceasefire, comprehensive withdrawal of the occupation, and the unconditional return of the displaced.

On the other hand, the official Israeli radio said that the government had made it contingent on sending a delegation headed by the head of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Agency (Mossad) David Barnea to the exchange deal talks in Cairo, on a response it described as “positive” from the Hamas movement.

The radio did not clarify the nature of the "positive" response expected from Hamas, but Israel had previously rejected during the negotiations in Doha and Cairo the movement's demands for the unconditional return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and a permanent ceasefire.

The newspaper "Israel Today" quoted Israeli officials in the negotiations as not likely to see progress in the negotiations "without severe military pressure on Hamas," and they considered that "delaying the Rafah operation would harm efforts to reach a deal regarding the hostages."

Biden and Netanyahu

While sources at Cairo Airport told Reuters that CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo to participate in the talks, the Wall Street Journal quoted an informed source as saying that US President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a settlement with Hamas regarding... The return of the Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip.

As for the American network NBC, it quoted American officials as saying that Biden asked Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire and to expand the powers of the negotiating delegation.

Last Thursday, Biden, in a phone call with Netanyahu, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and for Israel to take steps in this direction.

Israel had previously proposed in the negotiations to allow the return of 2,000 displaced persons daily to the northern Gaza Strip, with a maximum return of 60,000 Palestinians, excluding men between the ages of 18 and 50 years.

Israel also stipulated the return of the 2,000 people it identified 10 days to two weeks after implementing a ceasefire that would last for 6 weeks, according to informed Arab sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

Tel Aviv confirmed that those wishing to return to the north must pass through Israeli military checkpoints, under the pretext of preventing Hamas members from infiltrating the north again.

Hamas rejected the Israeli conditions, stressing its demands for the unconditional return of the displaced and a permanent ceasefire, considering that Israeli intransigence makes the negotiations revolve in a "vicious circle."

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies