The Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement and two other Palestinian groups have said a ceasefire deal with Israel in the Gaza Strip is “closer than ever.”

“The possibility of reaching an agreement (for a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange deal) is closer than ever, provided the enemy stops imposing new conditions,” Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said in a joint statement issued after talks in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo.

A Hamas leader told AFP news agency on Saturday that talks had made “significant and important progress” in recent days.

“Most points related to the ceasefire and prisoner exchange issues have been agreed upon,” he said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

“Some unresolved points remain, but they do not hinder the process. The agreement could be finalized before the end of this year, provided it is not disrupted by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s new conditions.”

On Friday, delegates from Palestinian groups – including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine –met in Cairo to exchange viewpoints on the Gaza ceasefire agreement and plans for post-war administration of the coastal territory.

A potential agreement would bring about an end to the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli captives.

Representatives from Hamas and rival Palestinian faction Fatah agreed in Cairo earlier this month to set up a committee to jointly govern the Strip once the Israeli aggression is over.

Under the plan, which needs Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s approval, the committee will have 10 to 15 non-partisan figures with authority on matters related to the economy, education, healthcare, humanitarian aid and reconstruction.

The delegations agreed to meet again at the earliest opportunity “to put the final touches” on the formation of the committee.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to the occupying entity’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed 45,227 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 107,573 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

Israel’s military has systematically blocked the entry of lifesaving food, medicine, medical supplies, fuel, and tents into the besieged Palestinian territory since October 2023.

More than one year into the Tel Aviv regime’s campaign of death and destruction, the territory’s critical infrastructure such as water networks, sanitation facilities and bread mills has all been razed to the ground.