Talks among representatives of the United States, Egypt, the Zionist regime, and Qatar in Cairo on achieving a new agreement for the exchange of prisoners and halting the war in Gaza concluded on Tuesday without "significant" progress, according to media reports. The participating delegations left the Egyptian capital without reaching an agreement on contentious issues.
In the discussions, William Burns, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt's intelligence agency, and a delegation including David Barnea, the head of Mossad, and Ronen Bar, the director of Shin Bet from the Zionist regime were present. The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, had no representation in the Cairo talks.
While sources close to the negotiations suggested that the outcome was neither a breakthrough nor a failure, the optimism expressed after the previous Paris meeting indicated the Cairo summit's results as "disappointing."
Zionist media reported that the Zionist regime's delegation was only supposed to listen to proposals and not make any of their own. A Zionist regime official stated after the talks: "The negotiations concluded without significant progress, but progress was made in identifying differences that could pave the way for an agreement."
Zionist and American sources cited the primary obstacle to serious negotiations as the high number of prisoners that Hamas seeks to be released in exchange for each Israeli captive, especially female and male soldiers.
Egypt, acting as a mediator in the talks, expressed caution about the Cairo meeting's lack of success and stated that despite the departure of the Israeli delegation, the talks were "positive" and would continue in three days.
The Egyptian government also declared that the session concluded with a "willingness to continue consultation and coordination" on key issues.
However, the failure of the Cairo talks to establish the agreed-upon framework between Hamas and the Zionist regime for a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange has raised concerns about escalating conflicts, particularly the Israeli army's ground attack on Rafah, where over 1.5 million Palestinian refugees reside.
The United Nations warned on Tuesday about the Zionist regime's ground invasion of Rafah, stating that it could lead to a "massacre" in the city, which is located in the southern Gaza Strip and houses millions of Palestinians.
The Zionist regime claimed that its deadly attacks on Rafah in recent days aimed to remove Hamas forces from hideouts created in the city. Israel also stated that freeing Israeli captives and evacuating non-combatant Palestinians from the city were additional objectives of the attack.
Martin Griffiths, the coordinator of humanitarian aid at the United Nations, responded to Zionist authorities' statements, saying, "Military operations in Rafah could lead to a massacre in Gaza. This action could also halt humanitarian operations in the already challenging situation. There is no guarantee of the safety of those involved in these humanitarian operations, and we lack the force and resources for assistance."
He added, "The international community has warned against the dangerous consequences of any ground invasion of Rafah. The Israeli government cannot continue to ignore these requests."
While international efforts focus on stopping hostilities in the Gaza Strip and ending the war, the U.S. Senate, in a provocative move strengthening the Zionist regime's motivation for continuing the war and killing innocent Palestinians, approved a bill providing assistance to the Zionist regime.
The bill allocates $14 billion to the Israeli regime and over $9 billion for areas actively involved in conflict, including the Gaza Strip.
NOURNEWS