Hamas' top leader traveled to Cairo on Wednesday for talks on the war in Gaza, part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at securing another ceasefire and swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners at a moment when Israel's offensive shows no signs of slowing. Hamas militants have been putting up stiff resistance, even as the Israeli army claims to be making great progress in eradicating them, the AP reports. The visit to Cairo by its top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, came a day after Hamas fired rockets that set off air raid sirens in central Israel. It was a show of strength after a 10-week war that has devastated much of northern Gaza , killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians, and driven some 1.9 million people—nearly 85% of the population—from their homes.
Israel has called on the rest of the world to blacklist Hamas as a terrorist organization, saying it must be removed from power in Gaza in the wake of its Oct. 7 rampage across southern Israel that triggered the war. But the sides have recently relaunched indirect talks, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. The goal is to achieve another ceasefire, and to free more hostages Hamas took in its attack in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. "These are very serious discussions and negotiations, and we hope that they lead somewhere," the White House's national security spokesman, John Kirby, said Wednesday.
Despite a burst of diplomacy by high-level officials in recent days, the two sides appeared to be far from an agreement. Hamas has said no more hostages will be released until the war ends, and is expected to insist on the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners, including high-level militants, for the captives that remain. Israel has rejected the demands so far. But it has a history of lopsided exchanges for captive Israelis, and the government is under heavy public pressure to bring the hostages home safely.
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Egypt, along with Qatar, helped mediate a weeklong ceasefire in November in which Hamas freed over 100 hostages in exchange for Israel's release of 240 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas and other militants are still holding an estimated 129 captives. Hamas said that Haniyeh—who is believed to be based in Qatar but whose movements are rarely publicized—would discuss the war with Egyptian officials, without providing more details. Ziad Nakhaleh, the leader of the smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which took part in the Oct. 7 attack and is also holding hostages, said he would also be going to Egypt in the coming days to participate in the talks.
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