Sources told the Saudi channel Al Arabiya on Wednesday that the Hamas terrorist organization has asked Israel for a written agreement with international guarantees not to return to war.
According to the sources, Hamas also demanded "to halt the Israeli plan to conquer Gaza." The sources said Egypt is trying to formulate a comprehensive deal on Gaza, to be implemented at the end of August.
Earlier, it was reported that a Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya met with Egypt's intelligence chief in an effort to advance talks on calm in Gaza.
It also emerged that during the meeting, Hamas representatives expressed a desire to accelerate the return to negotiations, and that Egypt has stepped up its efforts to reach calm. The talks are said to focus on a temporary 60-day ceasefire.
On Tuesday, Sky News Arabia reported on a new initiative by Egypt and Qatar, with Turkish participation, that will be presented to Hamas. A source told the network that the goal is to prevent a deep Israeli operation in Gaza City.
The source also said that if Hamas agrees to the initiative, it will be passed to the US mediator and then presented to Israel. According to the report, the initiative includes the release of all living hostages and the bodies of hostages, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian terrorists.
It was further claimed that the initiative includes "Hamas agreeing to a new deployment map for IDF troops, under Arab-American supervision, until a comprehensive solution is reached on weapons and Hamas rule."
As noted, to date Hamas has refused to disarm.
