The indirect talks between Hamas and Israel are progressing in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators taking the lead.
The talks that commenced on Monday are continuing on Tuesday. According to sources in the Israeli Defence Ministry, the negotiations are on a positive path. After Israel reduced the number of hostages to be released from 40 to 33, the possibility of a six-week ceasefire is high.
The Hamas side has demanded the release of around 600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Some of the Palestinian prisoners whose names figure in the list of prisoners submitted by Hamas are charged with serious offences, including murder.
Israel has already declared that a withdrawal by Hamas from this dialogue in Cairo would spell a land offensive by Israel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip.
As many as 1.3 million Palestinians are residing in the Rafah area. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has voiced alarm about an Israeli military action in Rafah and the threat of a flood of refugees spilling over into the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Rafah.
Recently, the Egyptian intelligence chief Major General Abbas Kamel cried the alarm about a Rafah operation.
On the other hand, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Saudi Arabia for a two-day trip, is keeping a close eye on the mediation exercises being pursued between Hamas and Israel.
