Egypt intensifies Gaza cease-fire efforts with Hamas, Israel: Report

By Ibrahim Al-Khazen

CAIRO (AA) - Cairo has intensified communications with Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas on several “contentious points” as it pushes for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap deal, Egyptian media reported Thursday evening.

Al-Qahera, a private news channel, quoted an unnamed high-level Egyptian source as saying that an “Egyptian security delegation is intensifying its communications with the leaders of the Hamas movement and their Israeli counterparts to reach an agreement on some contentious points.”

The push came amid ongoing negotiations on an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

The source added that head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Abbas Kamel held a phone call with Hamas’ Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, without providing details of the conversation.

Earlier Thursday, Haniyeh said in a statement that a Hamas delegation would visit Egypt soon to continue indirect negotiations with Israel.

Haniyeh, meanwhile, also held a phone call with the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. They agreed to continue discussions on a cease-fire deal “that meets the demands of our people and halts the aggression against them,” a separate Hamas statement said.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have taken place in both Egypt and Qatar.

They aimed at reaching a deal that included a prisoner swap, under which Israeli captives would be freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Tel Aviv believes that over 130 Israelis are being held in Gaza, while Israel reportedly holds around 9,100 Palestinians in its prisons.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel has made Hamas a "generous" offer to release the Israeli captives which could potentially lead to a cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which killed around 1,200 people.

Tel Aviv, in comparison, has killed nearly 34,600 Palestinians and wounded 77,700 others amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities in the Palestinian territory.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement besides a crippling blockade on food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​