Egypt has proposed an initial two-day cease-fire in Gaza to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners, Egypt's president said on Sunday.
Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made the announcement as efforts to defuse the more-than-year-long war resumed in Qatar with the directors of the CIA and Mossad intelligence agencies taking part.
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Red Cross vehicle transporting Israeli hostages toward Rafah border crossing as part of first hostage release deal, last November
(Photo: AP Photo/Hatem Ali)
Speaking alongside Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a press conference in Cairo, Sisi also said that talks should resume within 10 days of implementing the temporary cease-fire in an effort to reach a permanent one.
There was no immediate comment from Israel or Hamas but a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters: "I expect Hamas would listen to the new offers, but it remains determined that any agreement must end the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza."
Israel has said the war cannot end until Hamas has been wiped out as a military force and governing entity in Gaza.
The U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been spearheading negotiations to end the war that erupted after Hamas terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
An official briefed on the talks told Reuters earlier on Sunday that negotiations in Doha will seek a short-term cease-fire and the release of some hostages being held by Hamas in exchange for Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners.
The objective, still elusive after multiple mediation attempts, is to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a halt in fighting for less than a month in the hope this would lead to a more permanent cease-fire.
Earlier Sunday, Saudi network Asharq reported that the terror group plans to propose a "comprehensive deal to end the war immediately."
The proposal would call for Israel to withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip as part of a prisoner exchange that includes the release of all Israeli hostages.
A senior Hamas official emphasized that such a deal “would end the war once and for all, and would include a prisoner swap where all Israeli hostages are released in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.”
The official added that Hamas would consider other ideas from mediators but stressed that ending the war is non-negotiable. “Without that, there will be no deal,” he declared.
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Mossad chief David Barnea, Qatari PM Mohammed Al Thani and CIA Director William Burns
(Photo: Yariv Katz, AP)
Another senior Hamas official, speaking anonymously with the Qatari channel The New Arab, dismissed Israel’s claims of a shift in Hamas’ position following the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar, saying, “Those claims show that they do not understand how decisions are made within Hamas," he asserted.
“Hamas’ principles remain unchanged, before and after Sinwar. We have made our red lines clear to all mediators — full withdrawal from Gaza, the return of all displaced persons to their homes across the region and the assistance and reconstruction necessary for our people.”
Meanwhile, the Security Cabinet is set to convene on Sunday, with ministers expected to receive an update on hostage negotiations. The meeting follows Mossad Director David Barnea's anticipated departure for Doha, where he will attend a summit with the CIA director and the Qatari prime minister. The gathering is intended to jumpstart negotiations.
The summit facilitates direct talks between negotiation teams to finalize deal details. Later, an expanded four-party summit involving Egypt is expected. Over the last three weeks, Barnea has worked on a new framework, which he shared with the Egyptian intelligence chief in Cairo on Thursday. This proposal is expected to be adjusted to incorporate aspects of the Egyptian framework and additional strategies.
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