CAIRO (Web Desk) -A delegation of senior Hamas leaders discussed the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement on Sunday with the head of Egyptian intelligence, the Palestinian militant group said.
Led by Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, the delegation arrived in the Egyptian capital on Saturday for talks on Sunday with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, two officials from the movement told AFP.
Hamas said in a statement that it “reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the first phase of the (ceasefire) agreement, stressing the importance of putting an end to Israeli violations”.
“The nature of the second phase of the agreement” was also discussed in Cairo, Hamas added, without giving further details.
The second stage of the Gaza ceasefire plan concerns disarming Hamas, establishing a transitional authority and deploying an international stabilisation force.
Hamas, excluded from any role in the future governance of the territory under the Trump plan adopted by the UN Security Council, is refusing to disarm.
Over the past few days, Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the US-brokered truce that came into effect on October 10 after two years of war.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said 21 people were killed and dozens more wounded in multiple Israeli air strikes on Saturday.
The Israeli military said an “armed terrorist” had crossed the so-called Yellow Line within the Gaza Strip, behind which Israeli forces have withdrawn, and fired at Israeli soldiers.
In response to the incident in southern Gaza, the Israeli military said it “began striking terror targets in the Gaza Strip”.
Hamas said on Sunday it had also raised the fate of fighters in Gaza’s southern area of Rafah with whom it had lost contact.
According to various media reports, up to 200 Hamas fighters are believed to be trapped in tunnels in Gaza beneath part of the territory where the Israeli army has redeployed under phase one of the agreement.
