Hamas Delegation Heads to Cairo for ‘Exploratory’ Meetings

Protesters wave the Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border fence east of Gaza City on December 15, 2017. (AFP)
Protesters wave the Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border fence east of Gaza City on December 15, 2017. (AFP)
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Hamas Delegation Heads to Cairo for ‘Exploratory’ Meetings

Protesters wave the Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border fence east of Gaza City on December 15, 2017. (AFP)
Protesters wave the Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border fence east of Gaza City on December 15, 2017. (AFP)

A Hamas delegation is scheduled to arrive in Cairo mid-September to meet with Egyptian officials for further talks on pending issues, an official from the Palestinian movement official said on Sunday.

Hamas politburo member Maher Obeid said that the meetings will tackle various Palestinian files, especially reconciliation and a ceasefire with Israel.

Delegations from the Popular and Democratic fronts are expected to arrive for periodic meetings with Egyptian officials after efforts, especially peace negotiations, failed. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been accused of hindering the efforts.

Hamas has escalated its actions against Israel prior to the arrival of its delegation to Egypt and plans to revive popular rallies along the Gaza-Israel border, including the possibility of relaunching incendiary kites.

These acts aim at shedding light on the deteriorating situation in Gaza and serve as a strong protest message following the end of truce talks.

“Hamas believes that mediators will once again take action if Israel comes under pressure,” Asharq Al-Awsat had earlier quoted the movement as saying.

Obeid stressed that "if the masses of our people stepped up the march of return and put new pressure on the occupation, then truce will be achieved and Israel will pay for its actions."

“The fate of the peaceful return marches, especially after freezing the truce talks, depends on the movement of the Palestinian masses,” Obeid told the local Palestinian al-Istiqlal newspaper.

“Truce efforts have not completely stopped, but they are witnessing a state of laxity and change in the priorities of the parties, so that their priority will be to start reconciliation and then to address to other matters, led by the PA,” he added.

“However, it seems that our people will head towards escalation ... in order to achieve the desired goals,” Obeid stressed.

Egypt-sponsored truce talks between Palestinian factions and Israel last month were halted after Abbas's threats that he would not allow a truce in the Gaza Strip since it will help separate the enclave from the West Bank and lead the way for the adoption of the so-called “Deal of the Century”.



US Carries Out Strike in Iraq as Regional Tensions Worsen

Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)
Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)
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US Carries Out Strike in Iraq as Regional Tensions Worsen

Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)
Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)

The United States on Tuesday carried out a strike in Iraq in self defense, a US official told Reuters, as regional tensions rose after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that Israel said killed Hezbollah's most senior commander.
It was not immediately clear if the US strike was the same as the blasts reported earlier at a base south of Baghdad for Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, the official state security agency that includes several Iran-aligned armed groups.
Those blasts killed four people and injured three, according to police and medical sources.
In a statement after the blasts, the Popular Mobilization Forces made no accusation about who was responsible.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the strike was carried out because of a threat to coalition forces based in Iraq. The official did not comment on any casualties.
Multiple rockets were launched toward Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase housing US-led forces last week, US and Iraqi sources said, with no damage or casualties reported. US officials said none of the rockets hit the base.
It was the first known US strike in Iraq since February, when the US military launched airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and the militias it backs.
Iraq, a rare ally of both Tehran and Washington which hosts 2,500 US troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces, has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.