The truce would be open to extension if there is agreement on new conditions for further releases and that the proposals had been discussed between Qatar and Israel with the knowledge of the US administration.

New Delhi: The leader of Hamas made his first visit to Egypt for more than a month on Wednesday, a rare personal intervention in diplomacy amid the ongoing war with Israel. The talks have been widely reported to be set to focus on a possible ceasefire or truce in the Israel-Hamas war and a deal to release hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails.

Haniyeh was due to meet Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and other officials for talks on “stopping the aggression and the war to prepare an agreement for the release of prisoners,” a source close to the terror group told AFP.

Haniyeh, based in Qatar, was accompanied by a “high-level” Hamas delegation and was set to discuss “the delivery of humanitarian aid, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and the return of displaced persons to their towns and villages in the north,” the source added.

The news agency reported that the Egypt talks would focus on proposals including a weeklong truce that would see the release of 40 Israeli hostages, including women, children and male noncombatants. Similar details were reported Tuesday night by Axios.

The truce would be open to extension if there is agreement on new conditions for further releases, the source said, adding that the proposals had been discussed between Qatar and Israel with the knowledge of the US administration.

Haniyeh’s visit is his second to Egypt since Hamas’s brutal October 7 onslaught, which triggered the ongoing war. He made a previous trip in early November.

Hamas leaders have publicly said they will only free hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, though reports in recent days have indicated talks for another short-term truce to release more hostages may be advancing.

The terror group, which rules Gaza, sent thousands of gunmen into Israel on October 7, who killed around 1,200 people and took some 240 hostages, mostly civilians.

It is believed that 128 hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered along with three hostages who were mistakenly killed by the military. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 21 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

During a truce that ran from November 24 to December 1, international agencies were able to ship in desperately needed aid. Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners and Hamas returned 100 Israelis and others taken captive during its attacks on October 7, which killed around 1,200 and sparked Israel’s vicious retaliation on the enclave.

Hamas took a total of 240 Israeli captives in an unprecedented assault on Israeli territory on October 7 that also killed 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, Israel says, kicking off the current war.

(With inputs from agencies)