Israelis Arrive in Cairo to Resume Talks to Release Hostages: Report

A high-level Israeli delegation has arrived in Cairo to reopen talks on releasing Israeli hostages held by Hamas and its allies in Gaza, little more than a week after discussions halted when Israeli bombs killed a senior Hamas leader at a meeting in Lebanon, the Qatari-owned London-based Arabic news site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported. 

Israel’s state broadcaster later confirmed that indirect talks between Israel and Hamas were resuming through intermediaries in Egypt.

Egypt ended its part in the talks after Israel assassinated Saleh al-Arouri, the head of Hamas operations in the West Bank and its chief link to Iran

Mossad chief Ronen Bar reportedly heard from Qatar earlier this week that Hamas was prepared to reopen talks on a hostages-for-prisoners exchange with Israel and a month-long ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas appeared to agree for the first time, to an exchange deal without a full ceasefire, Israeli media reported earlier. Until now, Hamas has said it will not release any hostages until a full ceasefire is in place. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeated publicly that the war won't end until Hamas is eliminated. 

Egypt and Qatar, along with the U.S., brokered previous deals including the 7-day cease fire at the end of November that saw about 114 hostages, including 81 Israelis, released in exchange for about 350 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. About 112 hostages and the bodies of about two dozen more are thought to still be held by Hamas and other factions in Gaza.

The news comes as a rival faction to Hamas in Gaza published a video Monday showing Israeli hostage Elad Katzir, who was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. A video of Katzir and a second hostage was released by Hamas on Dec. 20.