Let's go. Ceasefire.Hamas "Allowed Israeli presence in Gaza"

Negotiations are showing signs of picking up steam as Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that has been at war with Israel for more than a year, has decided to concede on the issue of Israeli troops' presence in Gaza, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in reaching a ceasefire.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 11th local time, Hamas recently conveyed to the arbitrators that it would no longer stick to the immediate and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Israeli troops stationed in the Piladelpi Corridor, the border between Gaza and Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor, which divides Gaza into two Koreas, have expressed their willingness to agree to temporarily stay in their current positions after the ceasefire.

According to the WSJ, Hamas also agreed on the condition that it will not directly operate the Gaza-side section of the Rafa Border Checkpoint, the only passage between Gaza and Egypt, nor will Hamas personnel be deployed.

Arab mediators also said the list of hostages held was handed over to arbitrators on the 8th for the first time since a four-day pause in November last year.

The list reportedly contains the names of U.S. nationals, women, the elderly, and the sick, as well as five hostages who have already died and become bodies. Hamas also said it had a list of Palestinians in Israeli prisons who wanted to be released.

Hamas said in a statement to the WSJ, "There must be two sides to the prisoner swap agreement. "The enemy (Israel) must make a political decision to reach an important agreement."

The ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel, which have been mediated by the U.S. and Egypt, have repeatedly failed to reach a conclusion as the positions of the two sides are parallel.

Most recently, at the end of the negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered additional conditions, including maintaining control of the Philadelphia Corridor, and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader at the time, also showed a lukewarm attitude.

However, Sinwar was killed in October in a skirmish with Israeli forces.

Hamas was then placed in isolation when Hezbollah, a Lebanese pro-Iranian militant who has helped Hamas attack Israel, agreed to a ceasefire after suffering devastating damage from Israel's massive offensive.

After all, Hamas began to show a forward-looking attitude on key issues a few weeks ago, and is now discussing a "60-day temporary ceasefire proposal" proposed by the Egyptian government and supported by the U.S.

The cease-fire calls for a 60-day halt to fighting and for Hamas to release up to 30 hostages, including U.S. citizens, while allowing Israel to release Palestinian prisoners and expand aid to Gaza.

Egypt sent a delegation to Israel at the end of last month to reach a ceasefire. This month, Hamas and Israeli delegations visited Cairo, Egypt.

The WSJ said Israeli negotiators agreed to slowly withdraw Israeli troops from the Piladelpi Corridor, even as they pressed for the release of more hostages.

Israel has also said it is willing to redeploy Israeli troops in Gaza.

However, officials in the arbitration office said they rejected the idea of restricting access to certain areas, such as northern Gaza, which was home to Hamas.

Israel's prime minister's office declined to comment on these reports.

Netanyahu said on the 9th that there had been solid progress in the ceasefire negotiations, but that it was too early to say that the settlement was in sight.

Meanwhile, the White House said on the 11th that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will visit Egypt and Qatar one after another, starting with his visit to Israel.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken will also visit Jordan and Turkiye from that day.

It is uncommon for two key diplomatic and security advisers of the President of the United States to visit the Middle East at the same time.

Diplomats predict that the Syrian issue, which has entered a political upheaval due to the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, and measures to establish peace in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon will be mainly discussed.

However, the WSJ added that Arab negotiators have been wary of excessive expectations, saying there is a possibility that Hamas will change its position at the last minute, just as negotiations have failed several times so far.