A senior Hamas delegation, led by movement leader, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived on Thursday in Cairo to discuss an exchange deal with Israel for the return of the hostages in exchange for the release of security prisoners.
Sources in Egypt told the newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a London-based pan-Arab news outlet, that members of the Hamas delegation that are supposed to meet with General Kamal Abbas, head of the Egyptian General Intelligence, also include Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, and Zaher Jabarin, head of the Hamas ministry in the West Bank.
According to these sources, Hamas is supposed to respond to the Israeli proposal within the next few days.
The Turkish news agency Anadolu noted that, contrary to media reports, Hamas has not yet submitted its official response to the Israeli proposal.
At the beginning of the week, Hamas and the Popular Front issued a joint statement in which it was stated that both organizations emphasize the need to end Israeli "aggression" and bring about the withdrawal of "enemy" forces from Gaza, before conducting any exchange transaction that will be carried out on the basis of “all for all.”