Cairo – Together – Egyptian media reports reported, today, Thursday, that ‘positive progress’ had been made in the negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement on a truce in the Gaza Strip, amid intensive contacts Cairo is conducting with all parties.

The Cairo News Channel quoted a high-ranking Egyptian source as saying that the negotiations are witnessing ‘positive progress,’ and that ‘Egypt is conducting intensive contacts with all parties’ in this regard.

A source familiar with the negotiations said last Tuesday that a deal between Israel and Hamas is imminent, and may be reached within a few days if some of the problems hindering implementation are quickly resolved.

The source close to the mediators revealed that the Egyptian proposal is accepted by both parties, but the problem relates to the number of prisoners held by Hamas of the age group, and the job nature required to be released within the proposal.

Last Saturday, the Hamas movement announced that it had received the Israeli response to its po
sition, which was delivered to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on April 13, indicating that it ‘will study this proposal, and upon completion of its study, it will submit its response.’

Egypt sent a delegation to Israel last Friday to resume the stalled negotiations, amid the intensification of fighting in the Gaza Strip. The mediators (Egypt, Qatar, and the United States) are trying to reach a new truce agreement in the Gaza Strip after the first agreement, which lasted for a week at the end of last November.

Source: Maan News Agency