Israeli security delegation departs for Egypt for talks on Gaza cease-fire, hostage swap

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli security delegation headed to Cairo on Tuesday to join a meeting along with representatives from Egypt, Qatar and the US to discuss the prospects of reaching a cease-fire in Gaza and a hostage swap deal with Hamas.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, the delegation includes Mossad spy chief David Barnea and Shin Bet security agency director Ronen Bar.

The meeting will also be attended by CIA Director William Burns, Egyptian Intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

A Hamas delegation visited the Egyptian capital last week for talks on a possible hostage swap deal with Israel.

Last week, Hamas proposed a three-stage plan for a Gaza cease-fire that includes a 135-day pause in the fighting in return for the release of hostages, according to a Palestinian source.

The original framework agreement for a Gaza cease-fire was worked out during a Paris meeting last month of top officials from the US, Israel, Qatar and Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, rejected Hamas' offer for a cease-fire and vowed to continue his Gaza war until a “crushing victory” over the Palestinian group.

Israel believes that 134 Israelis are being held in Gaza after the Israeli army managed on Monday to free two hostages in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 28,473 people and injuring 68,146 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling this January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar