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Exclusive: Hamas exchanges hostage names with Israel for Gaza truce deal
Ceasefire negotiations have reached an advanced stage, with mediators giving names of captives and and Palestinian detainees to be exchanged, an informed source told °®Âþµºâ€™s Arabic language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, on Monday.
Committees from Hamas, Israel and Egypt have started work on implementing the captive and detainees exchange deal, with Hamas handing over a preliminary list of names of captives to be released to mediators, sources said.
The names were handed over to officials in Egypt's General Intelligence Service during a visit that lasted several hours in Cairo on Sunday.
The list of captives includes those who have medical conditions and the elderly, as well as four people who hold US citizenship, the source said.
Hamas's delegation also handed over a list of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, which it wants released as part of the deal.
Israeli negotiators are reportedly currently discussing the proposal further and agreeing on names of Palestinian detainees to be included on the list.
The source added that negotiating parties were "serious" about reaching an agreement and that Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US are all involved in supervising the talks.
In a statement following the meeting in Cairo, Hamas said they discussed ceasefire efforts and the Community Support Committee, which would administer the Strip in the day after the war, stressing their eagerness to make the truce deal a success.
Egyptian sources familiar with the negotiations also said there was optimism over reaching an agreement by the deadline set by US President-elect Donald Trump.
Terms of the Gaza agreement
An Israeli delegation is set to arrive in Cairo shortly to discuss some of the proposed terms to finalise the deal, including which areas Israeli forces would withdraw from during the transition period of the agreement, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.
Sources present at the talks also stated that Hamas has agreed to a 60-day transitional period where all food, medicine and fuel needs would be allowed in.
Officials in the Egyptian General Intelligence Service are ramping up efforts to persuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah movement to agree to the formation of the Community Support Committee.
This comes just days after Qatar said it sees "momentum" in Gaza ceasefire efforts.
"We have seen a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration [of US President-elect Donald Trump] in order to achieve a deal even before the president comes [into] office", Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
"And that actually made us [try] … to put it back on track. We’ve been engaging in the past couple of weeks," he continued.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 44,708 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 and wounded over 106,050. The war on the Strip has levelled entire neighbourhoods and plunged the enclave into a deep humanitarian crisis.