Israel downplays chances of ending war with Hamas

TEL AVIV, Israel — A delegation of Hamas terrorists was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported “noticeable progress” in cease-fire talks with Israel, though an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war in Gaza.

Pressure has mounted to reach a deal halting the nearly 7-month-long war. Israel insists it will launch an offensive into Rafah, the territory’s southernmost city on the border with Egypt, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering.

Egyptian and U.S. mediators have reported signs of compromise in recent days, but chances for a cease-fire deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas.

Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News TV channel said Saturday that a consensus had been reached over many disputed points but did not elaborate. Hamas has called for a complete end to the war and withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, played down the prospects for a full end to the war. The official said Israel was committed to the Rafah invasion and that it will not agree in any circumstance to end the war as part of a deal to release hostages.

The proposal that Egyptian mediators had put to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate, six-week cease-fire and partial release of Israeli hostages, and would include some sort of Israeli pullout.

The initial stage would last for 40 days. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Gershon Baskin, director for the Middle East at the International Communities Organization, said it appears that Hamas has agreed to the framework that Egypt proposed and Israel has already accepted. He said if Israel sends its top negotiators to Cairo after the Sabbath ends on Saturday evening, that would signify it’s very serious.

The conflict erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says terrorists still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

The war has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.

Israeli strikes early Saturday on Gaza killed at least six people. The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 terrorists.