The release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is at the center of a trip by a delegation of Hamas leaders from Gaza to visit Hamas leadership outside of Gaza, according to the Ma'an news agency. Hamas says there is progress following meetings of a German negotiator with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria and negotiator Hagai Hadas in Israel.
The first stop of the delegation, headed by Mahmoud Az-Zahar and Khalil Al-Haya, is Sudan. The group was supposed to go to Syria about a month ago, but the trip was delayed because of the events in northern Africa.