A senior Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to discuss implementing the Gaza ceasefire and a phased detainee exchange agreement with Israel.
A senior Hamas delegation led by Mohamed Darwish, the head of the movement’s Shura Council, has arrived in Egypt for an official visit to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and detainee exchange with Israel.
“A senior Hamas delegation arrived this evening in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, for an official visit led by Mohamed Darwish, chair of the leadership council,” Hamas said in a statement on Monday cited by the Anadolu news agency.
The delegation is scheduled to meet with Egyptian officials to review the latest developments in executing the ceasefire agreement and the three-phase detainee swap, the statement added.
⚡️🇵🇸BREAKING: Hamas official statement: Hamas Holds Reception for Freed Prisoners Exiled Outside Palestine
The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, held a reception on Monday evening for the freed prisoners who were released and arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, last… pic.twitter.com/faQvq6Boje
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) January 28, 2025
The Hamas delegation includes senior members of its leadership council and negotiating team: Khaled Meshaal, Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, Nizar Awadallah, Mohammed Nasser and Ghazi Hamad, according to the statement.
The ceasefire deal, which took effect on January 19, includes an agreement to exchange Israeli captives held in Gaza for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.
The agreement’s first phase will span 42 days and see Hamas release 33 Israeli captives — both living and deceased — while Israel will gradually free 1,700 to 2,000 Palestinian detainees. Negotiations on the subsequent two phases are set to begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire, Anadolu reported.
Detainees Deported to Cairo
Three female Israeli captives were released in exchange for 90 Palestinian detainees, including minors and female prisoners, primarily from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, during the first exchange.
Hamas noted that the delegation will also meet with Palestinian detainees freed on Saturday.
⭕ The first moments of the freed captives’ arrival in Cairo were marked by a warm welcome from Hamas leadership and various Palestinian factions.
Of 200 Palestinian captives freed today in the exchange deal, 70 were deported abroad, with Egypt as the first station. pic.twitter.com/vdfa2MsSmC
— Palestine Captives 𓂆 (@Palestinecapti1) January 26, 2025
On Saturday, Israel released 200 Palestinian detainees to the West Bank and Gaza, while 70 were deported to Egypt as part of the second batch under the agreement’s first phase. Hamas reciprocated by releasing four female Israeli soldiers.
According to Israeli Army Radio, 114 Palestinian detainees were released from Ofer Prison to Ramallah in the West Bank and 16 to Gaza, while 70 were transferred to Egypt, reported Anadolu.
Displaced Return to Northern Gaza
Israel is currently holding more than 10,300 Palestinian prisoners, while around 96 Israeli captives are being held in the enclave, according to Anadolu.
Dying on the Road to Freedom: Scenes from the Great March of Return to the North
Around a million Palestinians began the long journey back to their homes in northern Gaza on Monday from where they had been forced to flee amidst Israel’s genocidal attack on the enclave.
Staggering Death Toll
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 47,035 Palestinians have been killed, and 111,091 wounded in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
The Palestinian people return to their homes and lands in North Gaza.
Survivors of a genocide, exhausted, bereaved, but determined to live on their ancestral land in freedom and dignity.
🎥 Mohammed Abu Samra pic.twitter.com/XXLccX4BEC
— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) January 27, 2025
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
(Anadolu, PC)
