Hamas to respond

Israel will not send a team to negotiations for the time being

Hamas leader Yahya al-Sinwar(Bild: APA/AFP/MOHAMMED ABED)

For the time being, Israel's government is not sending a team to the indirect negotiations with Hamas in Cairo. A delegation will only be sent once the Islamist organization has responded to the proposal for an agreement, according to a report.

Hamas representatives, however, are already in Cairo. The contents of the indirect negotiations, in which representatives from the USA, Egypt and Qatar are mediating, are the release of hostages and the cessation of hostilities in several phases. Hamas has been demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. Israel's government has so far rejected this.

Hamas leader Yahya al-Sinwar (not present at the negotiations in Cairo)(Bild: APA/AFP/MOHAMMED ABED)

Qatar questions its role as mediator
The Qatari government is already questioning its role as mediator. The Hamas leadership has been in the emirate since 2012 - an arrangement that goes back to an agreement with the USA. According to people familiar with the matter, there are now considerations that Hamas will have to hand over its political office in Qatar. The Washington Post had previously reported that the US government had called for its expulsion if the group was unable to agree on a ceasefire with Israel.

However, Hamas was positive in the run-up to the indirect negotiations. Israel's government is said to have given the terrorist organization one week to agree to an agreement. Otherwise, the announced military offensive on the city of Rafah will be carried out (see video above), reported the Wall Street Journal late on Friday evening.