Hamas said earlier in the day that Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of its political bureau, arrived in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Wednesday morning to hold talks with Egyptian officials on the situation in the Gaza Strip and other issues.
The report cited Egyptian officials as saying that Haniyeh told intelligence officials in Cairo that he was there to obtain a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid for Gaza.
Hamas has rejected Israel's proposal to discuss the release of hostages until a ceasefire is established, according to the report. The proposal allegedly was set to include some 40 hostages, including, for the first time, members of Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad, as well as all the remaining women and children, men above the age of 60 and other hostages who are sick or seriously wounded and in need of urgent medical care.
Islamic Jihad also said that the ceasefire must go into effect before negotiations could start and that Israel must free "all of its thousands of Palestinian prisoners" in return for more than 100 hostages held in Gaza, the report said.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip across the border, killing over 1,200 people and abducting some 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 19,400 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of the conflict, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The truce was extended several times and expired on December 1.