Hamas team heads to Cairo for Gaza talks as Israeli strikes kill 26

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: A Hamas delegation left for Cairo to discuss “new ideas” aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, an official from the group said, as rescuers reported 26 dead in Israeli air strikes on Tuesday.

The renewed diplomatic effort follows Hamas´s rejection last week of Israel´s latest proposal to secure the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. Talks have so far failed to produce any breakthrough since Israel resumed its air and ground assault from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire.

The Hamas delegation, led by the group´s chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya, “will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss new ideas aimed at reaching a ceasefire”, said the official. The discussions come a day after new US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged Hamas to accept a deal that would secure the release of hostages in exchange for humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

“When that happens, and hostages are released which is an urgent matter for all of us, then we hope that the humanitarian aid will flow and flow freely knowing it will be done without Hamas being able to confiscate and abuse their own people”, Huckabee said in a video statement.

Israel has accused Hamas of diverting aid, which Palestinian militant group denies. Israel blocked all aid to Gaza on March 2, days before its renewed offensive began. “Gaza has become a land of desperation,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, said on X on Tuesday.