Hamas sends high-level delegation to Cairo to try and restart ceasefire with Israel

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas said Saturday that it had sent a high-level delegation to Cairo to try and get a ceasefire with Israel back on track.

Israel has vowed to continue the war until all hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. It says it will hold parts of Gaza indefinitely and implement President Donald Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of the population in other countries.

Hamas has said that it will only release the dozens of hostages it holds in return for Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, as called for in the now-defunct agreement reached in January.

Hamas said that its delegation will discuss with Egyptian officials the group’s vision to end the war, which also includes reconstruction.

Last week, other Hamas officials arrived in Cairo to discuss a proposal that would include a five-to-seven year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said.

Egypt and Qatar are developing the proposal, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief media.

Meanwhile, An Israeli airstrike flattened a three-story home in Gaza City on Saturday, killing 10 people. The early morning strike occurred in a neighborhood in western Gaza City. In total, Israeli strikes over a 24-hour period killed at least 49 people, according to Hamas-led health officials.

Israel’s military said that it had struck a Hamas terrorist and the structure where he operated collapsed, adding that the collapse was under review.

Three other people were killed in the Shati refugee camp along Gaza City’s shoreline.

Israeli blockade continues

Israel has continued its nearly two-month blockade of Gaza, even as aid groups warn that supplies are dwindling.

On Friday, the World Food Program said that its food stocks in Gaza had run out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. It said the dozens of charity kitchens it supports are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

About 80 percent of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the U.N.

“Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 UNRWA trucks of lifesaving aid are ready to enter Gaza,” the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media. “The siege must stop.”

Hamas on Saturday called on the Trump administration to immediately reverse its decision that the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees isn’t immune from being sued, calling it a dangerous step by Israel’s close ally.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 combatants.

The war began when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The terrorists still have 59 hostages, 24 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.