A Hamas delegation, led by the chairman of Hamas’s political bureau Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo on December 20 to discuss a possible ceasefire and exchange of hostages. Haniyeh is expected to meet with Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID) Abbas Kamel to discuss “stopping the aggression and the war to prepare an agreement for the release of prisoners [and] the end of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.”
According to Al Ahram News, Haniyeh had met in Doha with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday. Following this meeting, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaan said Hamas was ready for a lasting ceasefire but negotiations were not possible under continuing Israeli attacks in Gaza.
In addition, Islamic Jihad Movement Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah will lead a delegation to Cairo within days, on an official invitation from Egypt, he told Al Jazeera. Nakhalah said that the prisoner exchange deal will adhere to the principle of “all for all” and will be carried out through a political process agreed upon by Palestinian factions, primarily Hamas.
