Hamas, Fatah hold talks in Cairo on next steps for Gaza truce

Source says sides to ‘work on organizing the Palestinian internal front’; Hamas says ‘factions’ agreed independent Palestinian technocrats will administer post-war Gaza

Delegations from Hamas and its longtime rival Fatah met in Cairo on Thursday to discuss the second phase of a US-backed Gaza peace plan, an informed source told AFP.

“The meeting discussed the current situation and issues related to the second phase of the proposed ceasefire in Gaza,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He added that both sides agreed to “continue meetings in the coming period and to work on organizing the Palestinian internal front in the face of the challenges posed by the Israeli government.”

Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News reported that the talks covered “the national scene in general and arrangements after ending the war in the Gaza Strip.”

Following the talks, Hamas issued what it said was a joint statement from a group of “Palestinian factions,” announcing that they have agreed to have an independent committee of Palestinian technocrats administer postwar Gaza. Hamas has long stated that it was prepared to cede control of the Strip, while leaving for separate discussions the question of the terror group’s disarmament.

The statement did not say who will take part in the Palestinian technocratic committee, whose make-up will likely require a green light from Washington. US officials indicated last week that filling the panel was not their top priority.

The statement also did not mention the participation of Fatah representatives, amid reports that Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the secularist faction, had instructed aides to stay away from the sit-down over its inclusion of Hamas.

Hamas and Fatah have a history of deep political rivalry — Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza in a violent 2007 coup — which has hindered efforts at Palestinian national unity. Hamas avowedly seeks to destroy Israel; Fatah chief Abbas’s PA says it seeks statehood alongside an Israel returned to its pre-1967 lines.

Egypt, a long-time mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, hosted the meetings as part of a wider push to build consensus around the long-term ceasefire plan put forward by US President Donald Trump.

Alongside the Hamas-Fatah talks, Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad met with senior officials from key Palestinian factions.

They included the Islamic Jihad terror group, an ally of Hamas, as well as the terror groups the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Al-Qahera News said the talks were part of Egyptian efforts to “achieve national Palestinian consensus on the implementation of the US president’s ceasefire plan in Gaza.”

The meetings come as top US diplomat Marco Rubio visited Israel on Thursday, the latest in a series of Washington officials aiming to solidify the fragile truce.

Under Trump’s 20-point peace plan, an international security force drawn from Arab and Muslim allies would stabilize Gaza as Israeli troops withdraw, while a transitional authority would take over the territory’s administration from Hamas.