The terror organization also reportedly requested, through Egyptian mediators, that the IDF cease airstrikes in the Gaza Strip so that it can complete the task.
Senior Hamas political bureau official, Mahmoud al-Mardawi, denied earlier reports of the terror organization’s commitment to future disarmament under international supervision in a statement published to Hamas’s Telegram channel on Sunday night.
Al-Mardawi called the claims “fabricated” and “baseless,” aiming to “distort the movement’s stance and confuse public opinion.”
The matter of Hamas’s disarmament is a “Palestinian issue that will be dealt with within the Palestinian framework,” Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati told London-based, Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday night.
Earlier on Sunday, a Hamas source told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya that the organization had begun collecting the remains of deceased Israeli hostages for a potential handover.
The source explained that the return of remains may take some time, but that the handover of living hostages would occur in a single phase.
A drone view shows Palestinians and Hamas gathering on the day of the release of Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, and Omer Wenkert, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Nuseirat, cen (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)
The terror organization also reportedly requested, through Egyptian mediators, that the IDF cease airstrikes in the Gaza Strip so that it can complete the task.
Al Arabiya reported that the source said that “swift and intensive” negotiations are “in the movement’s interest.”
Hamas’s Hayya to arrive in Cairo, set to have heavy security
Separately, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya is set to arrive in Cairo on Sunday evening ahead of the upcoming ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel, according to the London-based, Qatari state-owned outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
In response, an Egyptian source confirmed to the outlet that Egypt’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) had imposed strict security measures on the movement and location of Hamas’s delegation.
The measures will reportedly include tight security for delegation members and “jamming systems around the delegation’s route and meeting places in Cairo,” according to Al-Araby.
Israel prepares for Cairo negotiations
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the Israeli hostage negotiation delegation, headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, to depart for talks in Cairo, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Sunday evening.
Negotiations are set to take place on Monday.
This is a developing story.
