Hamas discusses cease-fire talks developments with Russian envoy

ISTANBUL

A delegation from Hamas met a Russian top envoy on Friday to discuss the possibilities of reaching a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip which has been in the grips of a genocide for more than a year.

The Palestinian resistance group said it met Russia's special envoy for the Middle East and North Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, in the Qatari capital of Doha where the two sides discussed "ways to achieve a permanent cease-fire and mechanisms for addressing regional developments.”

The two sides also reviewed the formation of "a Palestinian community support committee" that is expected to administer control over Gaza in the aftermath of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza.

Bogdanov reiterated Russia's firm stance toward supporting Palestinian rights and stressed the need for an immediate cease-fire and the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Hamas said Thursday that it has accepted an Egyptian proposal to form a joint Palestinian committee to run Gaza after the war.

Hamas conveyed its approval of an Egyptian proposal for forming a community support committee that will function through inclusive national mechanisms," the group said Thursday.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza following an attack by Hamas in October 2023, killing more than 44,600 victims, most of them women and children, and injuring nearly 106,000.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions denouncing the attacks and the blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy the population.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar