Gaza/Cairo - The anonymous German mediator brokering a long- awaited Israel-Gaza prisoner exchange plans to meet Tuesday with a delegation of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, which has de facto control of the Gaza Strip. The goal will be to hear Hamas' reply to Israel's latest offer.
That offer is said to involve the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza. He was caught in a June 2006 cross- border raid led by Hamas on an Israeli military base near Gaza.
The meeting in Cairo comes amid reports of "real and significant" progress in the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
A source "close to" Hamas told Gaza's local news agency Sama that the delegation headed by Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar will discuss with the German mediator the final form of the emerging agreement with Israel.
