A senior Hamas official has said that talks to reach a ceasefire between the Palestinian movement and Israel in Gaza “intensified in recent hours” with mediator countries Egypt and Qatar.
On Wednesday, Hamas’ senior official, Taher Al-Nono, told AFP: “Our communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours.”
Moreover, he said that the Palestinian movement “had not received any new proposals” to end the Gaza war, which has entered its 21st month.
In the same context, the US President, Donald Trump, expressed optimism regarding Gaza ceasefire talks, raising hopes that the devastating war could come to an end.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday, Trump said: “I think great progress is being made on Gaza,” adding that his Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, told him that “Gaza is very close.”
The US President suggested that the imminent “very good news” for Gaza is linked to the recently-announced ceasefire between Iran and Israel that ended their 12-day war, according to AFP.
Similarly, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, hinted that Israel’s military action against Iran’s missile and nuclear facilities could bring the conflict in Gaza to an end.
Furthermore, mediator Qatar said on Tuesday that it would initiate a new push for a ceasefire. “We are still continuing our efforts, we will try to look for an opportunity during the next two days for having indirect negotiations between the two parties,” the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said during a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart.
“We hope that the Israeli side will not exploit the ceasefire with Iran to unleash what it wants to unleash on Gaza and continue its bombing of” the enclave, he added.
