Israeli media outlets are reporting that Hamas and Israel have made remarkable progress in negotiating a potential prisoner exchange under the brokerage of a third party, but each side continues to provoke the other publicly.
Israeli Public Broadcasting Corp. (KAN) said June 26 that an undisclosed third party is brokering a deal. KAN political affairs analyst Amir Bar Shalom said in a story that negotiations gained momentum when a Hamas delegation visited Cairo June 4-10. The delegation, led by the movement's Gaza Strip political bureau head Yahya Sinwar, met with prominent Egyptian officials in the General Intelligence Directorate.