• Source:JND
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Israel and Hamas have signalled a potentially major development in the direction of a truce after long-stalled efforts to end the war finally gained momentum last week. Israel on Thursday said that its spy chief will take part in the truce talks, and the Palestinian militant group said that it was ready to stop fighting if a deal is reached, AFP reported on Friday.

Earlier efforts to end the year-long war, which has witnessed the killing of close to 50,000 individuals in total, failed. However, the death of its chief Yayha Sinwar last week promoted Hamas to take a stand different from what it underscored in the past. The United States, which sided with Israel in its war against various Iran-backed outfits, had also predicted a change in Hamas' stand owing to Yahya's killing by IDF.

A delegation of Doha-based leadership of Hamas met Egyptian officials on Thursday in Cairo to discuss truce-related ideas and proposals, a senior Hamas leader told AFP.

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"Hamas has expressed readiness to stop the fighting, but Israel must commit to a ceasefire, withdraw from the Gaza Strip, allow the return of displaced people, agree to a serious prisoner exchange deal and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza," the official said as quoted by the agency.

The Cairo meeting was focussed on restarting the Egypt-led negotiation talks, the report added.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also said that he welcomed the initiative taken by Egyptian leadership to reach a deal "for the release of the hostages" still held by Hamas.

Following discussions in Cairo, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed Mossad's chief to depart for Qatar on Sunday to pursue key mediation efforts, according to the Prime Minister's office.

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Earlier, the U.S. and Qatar announced that talks to secure a ceasefire in Gaza would resume in Doha. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also visited Qatar's leaders in Doha on Thursday, marking his eleventh trip to the region since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that initiated the current Gaza conflict.