Hamas officials arrive in Cairo ‘to follow up on implementation of’ truce
A Hamas delegation, headed by senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, has arrived in the Egyptian capital. The group aims “to follow up on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with mediators, Palestinian factions, and forces”, it said in a statement.
Hamas’s armed wing said earlier it that located the body of another captive, which it said will be delivered to Israel on Sunday “if field conditions were appropriate”.
The group said any Israeli “escalation” would hinder search operations, shortly after Israel said it launched air strikes and artillery fire at targets in southern Gaza amid disputes over ceasefire violations.
Transitional government plans for Gaza ‘not clear’
It’s still unclear how a transitional government for Gaza would be formed and who would run it, academic Adnan Hayajneh says, amid Hamas’s long-term control of the devastated enclave.
“It’s not very clear how it’s going to happen, because Hamas has been controlling Gaza for the past 20 years … they run everything,” Hayajneh, professor of international relations at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera.
“Now the US … wants to bring a new government where they’re going to bring all these people to run and establish new institutions, establish a new bureaucracy to run schools, hospitals and everything else.”
Hayajneh warned that those ideas were not very realistic or practical.
“In reality, you have to have an interim government dealing with Hamas or having a transition period in order to have a transfer of power. Bringing a new government will take time.”
‘Situations in Palestine and Lebanon have similarities’
What is going on in Gaza has similarities to the situation in southern Lebanon, where Israel carries out regular attacks, an analyst says.
Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the core issues that define the border demarcation have not been resolved in Lebanon, along with Hezbollah’s role in politics and water rights.
“The same thing is happening in Palestine – there is no agreement on the Palestinian state or who will replace Hamas in Gaza,” he said, speaking to Al Jazeera from London.
“As long as the core issues in Palestine are not resolved, like in Lebanon, there is always likely to be escalations, and we are seeing Israel escalate here in the same way as they have in Lebanon.”
