Israel and Hamas are making progress in cease-fire and hostage release talks, officials say
CAIRO (AP) — Israel and Hamas are making progress toward a deal that aims to bring about a cease-fire and free hostages held in the Gaza Strip, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the talks, as key meetings continue Tuesday in the Egyptian capital.
Talks are moving forward even after Israel intensified its offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have fled to seek shelter from fighting elsewhere. Israeli forces rescued two captives held in the town along the Egyptian border in a raid that killed at least 74 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and left a trail of destruction.
A deal would give people in Gaza a desperately needed respite from the war, now in its fifth month, and offer freedom for at least some of the 100 people still held captive in Gaza. With the war grinding on, efforts mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt to bring about a deal have been hobbled by the starkly disparate positions of Hamas and Israel.
Israel has made destroying Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and freeing the hostages the main goals of its war, which was launched after thousands of Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 people captive. Tens of thousands of Israelis were displaced from destroyed communities.