Hamas confirms direct talks with US representative over Gaza

Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Haja met with US advisor Aryeh Lightstone in Cairo, Hamas circles confirmed according to a report by US broadcaster CNN.

Meeting also with international Gaza envoy

According to CNN, Nikolai Mladenov, the High Representative for Gaza, was also present at the meeting on Tuesday evening. The Bulgarian and former UN Middle East envoy serves as a liaison between the Peace Council and the Palestinian interim administration of the Gaza Strip, which has been largely destroyed in two years of war.

Hamas continues to reject disarmament

Ahead of the transition to the second phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, Hamas is insisting that Israel cease its attacks in the coastal strip and allow the import of more humanitarian aid.

The militant Palestinian organization continues to reject the disarmament of Hamas envisaged in the plan. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 760 Palestinians have been killed in the narrow coastal strip since the ceasefire began.

People in Gaza continue to live in hardship

Israel's army continues to control around half of the Gaza Strip, while Hamas has reasserted its control over the rest of the territory. The second phase of the peace plan provides for a further withdrawal of Israeli troops and the final end of the war to enable reconstruction of the destroyed cities in the Palestinian territory with around two million inhabitants. Even after half a year of ceasefire, people are still living in need. Relief supplies only reach the area via a crossing controlled by Israel.

Concerns about a new start to the war

Lightstone met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the meeting in Cairo to secure Israel's commitment to fully implement its obligations in the first phase of the ceasefire, CNN reported. Israel had agreed to implement these commitments provided Hamas undertook to disarm. According to the report, Mladenov warned the Hamas representative that Israel would resume the war if Hamas did not lay down its arms.

The peace plan provides for the deployment of an international stabilization force to ensure calm in the Gaza Strip. So far, however, only Indonesia has committed to sending soldiers.