Hamas heads to Moscow: Here's why

Senior Hamas official abroad Moussa Abu Marzouk will head a delegation today (Monday) to Moscow. According to Russian Arabic media, Abu Marzouk will lead a delegation for discussions with Russian Foreign Ministry officials.

Last October, a delegation led by Abu Marzouk met with Russian Middle East envoy and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. At that time, Bogdanov emphasized Russia's position supporting a ceasefire in Gaza and the hostage deal. During those talks, the issue of two Israeli hostages with Russian citizenship was discussed: Alexander (Sasha) Trufanov and Maxim Harkin.

Trufanov was included in the list of 33 hostages for the first phase of the hostage deal, while Harekin was not included. Last month, Russia's Ambassador to Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, told "Russia-24" TV channel: "There is evidence indicating that Trufanov's condition is not great. We hope his condition won't deteriorate. Hamas leadership promised Russia that he would return safely according to the recently reached agreement." Last October, Islamic Jihad released a proof of life video of Tropanov. In November, the terrorist organization released another proof of life from him.

At a press conference held yesterday by Qatar's Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, he called on Israel and Hamas to immediately begin negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire. According to him, "there is no clear plan yet regarding when talks will begin." Under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, talks on the second phase are supposed to officially begin today.

Israel Hayom contributed to this article.