Al-Hayya takes helm of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades as talks near 'finish line'

The al-Qassam Brigades field leadership has committed to providing al-Hayya with its full support, Al Araby Al Jadeed cited the Hamas official as saying.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 26, 2024 09:50 Updated: DECEMBER 26, 2024 09:56

Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya. (Illustrative) (photo credit: Canva, REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA, REUTERS/OMAR IBRAHIM)

As hostage deal and ceasefire negotiations approach "the finish line," Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya has taken the helm of the terror group's military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, a senior Hamas official told the UK-based Qatari news organization, Al Araby Al Jadeed, on Wednesday.

Al-Hayya is Hamas’s top negotiator in the talks and serves as the organization’s senior leader in Gaza.

The al-Qassam Brigades field leadership has committed to providing al-Hayya with its full support, Al Araby Al Jadeed cited the Hamas official as saying.

Additionally, the Hamas official denied reports that the terror group hadn’t provided a list of living hostages held in Gaza captivity, emphasizing that the group had done so for those hostages it was able to locate via the groups charged with holding them.

The official reportedly said that the leadership of the Gazan groups holding hostages italicized that communication between the various armed factions in Gaza was difficult due to the ongoing war.

Hamas officials, Khalil Al-Hayya and Osama Hamdan, attend a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, November 21, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/ESA ALEXANDER)

The Hamas official added that the terror group would be prepared to provide a complete list of living hostages after a ceasefire and “stabilization of the security situation,” Al Araby Al Jadeed reported.

'A few steps away from the finish line'

Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations are “a few steps away from the finish line,” Egyptian sources told the Qatari paper.

Further, the last couple of days have seen the completion of compromise formulas for subjects that marked points of disagreement during the previous round of negotiations, Al Araby Al Jadeed added.

According to the outlet, this most recent breakthrough would entail Israel postponing the release of ten high-profile Palestinian prisoners until the final phase of the deal.

These ten would reportedly include Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat, Abbas al-Sayed, Abdullah Barghouti, Ibrahim Hamed, and Hassan Salameh as well as two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders.

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 Al Araby Al Jadeed noted that the compromise came after Hamas conceded to Israeli demands that soldiers be released from captivity.

Among the soldiers are five women, two men holding American citizenship, and two more holding Russian citizenship, the Qatari paper added.