BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) left Cairo, Egypt's capital, on April 29 and will then respond in writing to Israel's latest plan for a ceasefire and the release of detainees.
On the same day, Israel confirmed that it would send a delegation to Egypt to discuss with the mediators. Many parties have stepped up their efforts to mediate a ceasefire.
A ceasefire is now hopeful
Egypt's Cairo News TV reported on the 29th, citing Egyptian intelligence sources as sources, that the Hamas delegation has left Cairo and will return with a written response to the ceasefire talks. Agence France-Presse, citing sources close to Hamas, reported that the Hamas delegation had returned to Qatar and was discussing the latest plan and "intends to reply as soon as possible."
Israeli government officials confirmed to Xinhua News Agency reporters on the 29th that the Israeli side will send a delegation to Egypt on the 30th.
At a special meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukeri said on the 29th that the latest plan for a ceasefire and the release of detainees "takes into account the positions of both sides" and that the two sides of the conflict "hopefully" reach an agreement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the same occasion that Israel had made "significant" concessions in the latest package, urging Hamas to "make a quick decision."
On the same day, U.S. President Joseph Biden held phone calls with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to discuss the latest progress in the Gaza ceasefire talks. Biden called on Sisi and Tamim to do everything in their power to facilitate the release of those detained by Hamas, according to a White House statement, saying "this is the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire right now." Sisi's spokesman said that in the phone call, Sisi and Biden discussed the issue of mutual release of detainees between Palestine and Israel.
Egypt, Qatar and other mediators have previously tried to broker a six-week ceasefire agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis, but the parties to the conflict have not accepted it. Reuters reported on the 29th, citing sources, that the latest plan proposed by Israel includes the release of less than 40 detainees by Hamas in exchange for the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners by Israel; the ceasefire will be implemented in stages, after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel will allow the free movement of people in the north and south of the Gaza Strip and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the second phase includes a "continuous cooling-off period".
The fighting continues
As leaders gather in Riyadh to discuss pushing for a ceasefire, fighting continues in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli side has designated the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah as one of the Hamas strongholds, and has frequently bombed Rafah since the current round of clashes began last October.
Agence France-Presse, citing eyewitnesses, reported that Israeli military airstrikes hit three houses in Rafah. Local medical and civil protection said the airstrikes killed at least 22 people. Multiple health officials told The Associated Press that the dead included six women and five children, including a newborn who was just five days old.
In Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, local health officials told Reuters that at least six people were killed and many injured as a result of airstrikes. In the al-Nusailat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes killed three people, including journalists and medical personnel. Elsewhere in central Gaza, six others were killed in air strikes.
The current round of conflict continues to this day, and the Gaza Strip is in a serious humanitarian crisis. Currently, more than 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah. The Israeli side said that it would attack Rafah, but the international community opposed it. (Bao Xuelin)