GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip | Gaza’s top strongman emerged Saturday from six weeks in hiding, leading a Hamas delegation to Egypt for cease-fire talks and reiterating that the Islamic militant group is “flexible” over who should lead reconstruction in the devastated territory.
Mahmoud Zahar, who is one of Gaza’s top two leaders, and three other Hamas officials crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Saturday, en route to Cairo.
Egypt is mediating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to reach a durable truce. Hamas wants Israel and Egypt to lift their 20-month border blockade of Gaza, while Israel wants improved guarantees that Hamas will be prevented from smuggling weapons into Gaza.
Mr. Zahar told reporters on the Egyptian side of the border that Hamas would be flexible about reconstruction. Thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed or damaged during the war, which caused an estimated $2 billion in damages.
Hamas initially insisted it should supervise the spending. However, international donors are reluctant to hand huge sums to the Islamic militants.
Apparently fearing Israeli assassination, Mr. Zahar had been in hiding during the three-week offensive and even after a tentative cease-fire took hold in mid-January. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh still has not appeared in public.
Israel unilaterally halted its three-week military offensive on Jan. 18, and Hamas militants halted fire a day later, but the two sides have not agreed on the terms of a cease-fire. Sporadic violence has continued since.
On Friday, Israeli warplanes struck four smuggling tunnels and a weapons depot in the area of the Gaza-Egypt border, the Israeli military said. The air strikes came in response to two rockets fired from Gaza on southern Israel.
In other developments, United Nations and Hamas officials met in Gaza late Friday, after Hamas police seized 10 trucks with U.N. aid shipments, including rice and flour. In response, the U.N. suspended aid shipments.
Earlier in the week, Hamas police seized thousands of blankets and food parcels earmarked for U.N. distribution to needy residents.
Ahmed Kurd, Hamas’ minister of social affairs, said Saturday that the two sides resolved their differences. He claimed that the U.N. trucks were not marked and Hamas officials believed the goods were sent by Egyptian charities, meant to be given straight to Hamas.
U.N. officials would only confirm on Saturday that they met with Hamas representatives but said they would not lift their freeze on aid shipments until all 10 trucks were returned.
“When they return what they have taken, we will inform everybody. But what we are hearing is positive as of now,” said John Ging, the top U.N. aid official in Gaza.
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