Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for new ceasefire talks in the latest sign of progress

BEIRUT – Hamas said on Thursday it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further ceasefire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to reach an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza.

After months of on-and-off negotiations, ceasefire efforts appear to have reached a critical phase, with Egyptian and American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days. But the possibilities for agreement remain linked to the fundamental question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without achieving its declared objective of destroying Hamas.

What is at stake in the ceasefire negotiations has become clear in a new UN report which states that if the Israel-Hamas war stops today it will still be necessary until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that were destroyed by almost seven months of Israeli bombing and ground offensives in Gaza. He warned that the impact of the damage to the economy will set back development for generations and will only worsen with each month that the fighting continues.

The proposal that US and Egyptian mediators presented to Hamas – apparently with Israel’s acceptance – sets out a three-phase process that would bring an immediate six-week ceasefire and the partial release of Israeli hostages, but also negotiations on a “permanent calm” that includes some type of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to an Egyptian official. Hamas seeks guarantees for a complete Israeli withdrawal and a complete end to the war.

Hamas officials have sent mixed signals about the proposal in recent days. But on Thursday, its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement that he had spoken to Egypt’s intelligence chief and “emphasized the positive spirit of the movement in studying the ceasefire proposal.”

The statement said that Hamas negotiators would travel to Cairo “to complete ongoing discussions with the aim of working towards an agreement”. Haniyeh said he also spoke with Qatar’s prime minister, another key mediator in the process.

Brokers are hopeful the deal will put an end to a conflict that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, caused widespread destruction and plunged the territory into a humanitarian crisis. They also hope a deal will prevent an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have sought shelter after fleeing battle zones elsewhere in the territory.

If Israel agrees to end the war in exchange for the full release of the hostages, it would be a major turnaround. Since the October 7 Hamas attack stunned Israel, its leaders have vowed not to stop bombings and ground offensives until the militant group is destroyed. They also say Israel must maintain a military presence in Gaza and security control after the war to ensure Hamas does not rebuild.

At least publicly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that this is the only acceptable end.

He promised that even if a ceasefire is reached, Israel will eventually attack Rafah, which he says is Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza. He repeated his determination to do so in talks on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Israel on a regional trip to advance the deal.

The immediate fate of the deal depends on Hamas accepting uncertainty over the final stages to trigger the initial six-week pause in fighting – and at least delay what is feared will be a devastating attack on Rafah.

Egypt has privately assured Hamas that the agreement will mean a complete end to the war. But the Egyptian official said Hamas claims the text’s language is too vague and wants it to specify a complete Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza. The person in charge spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about internal deliberations.

On Wednesday night, however, the news seemed less positive, as Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, expressed skepticism, saying the group’s initial stance was “negative.” Speaking to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, he said negotiations were still ongoing but would break down if Israel invaded Rafah.

Blinken increased pressure on Hamas to comply, saying Israel had made “very important” commitments.

“There is no time for further negotiations. The deal is there,” Blinken said on Wednesday before leaving for the US

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people, including a child, in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. The bodies were seen and counted by Associated Press journalists at a hospital.

The war broke out on October 7, when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and killed more than 1,200 people, most of them Israelis, taking around 250 others hostage, some released during a ceasefire in November.

The Israel-Hamas war was triggered by the October 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 hostages. Hamas is believed to still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 other people.

Since then, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has caused vast destruction and provoked a humanitarian disaster, with several hundred thousand Palestinians in northern Gaza facing imminent famine, according to the UN. More than 80% of the population was expelled from their homes.

The “productive base of the economy has been destroyed” and poverty is rising sharply among Palestinians, according to the report released Thursday by the United Nations Development Program and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

It stated that by 2024, the entire Palestinian economy – including Gaza and the West Bank – has so far contracted by 25.8%. If the war continues, the loss will reach a “staggering” 29% by July, he said. The West Bank economy has been hit by Israel’s decision to cancel work permits for tens of thousands of workers who depended on jobs inside Israel.

“These new figures warn that the suffering in Gaza will not end when the war ends,” said UNDP administrator Achim Steiner. He warned of a “serious development crisis that puts the future of future generations at risk.”

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Lee Keath reported from Cairo and Sam Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel.