Israel and Hamas Reach Cairo, Yet No Breakthrough on Gaza Truce Emerges
Israel and the Hamas delegation left Cairo tonight after indirect negotiations conducted with mediators from Qatar, the United States, and Egypt. The talks, held earlier in the day, did not yield any concrete progress toward a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to sources close to the negotiations cited by EFE.
Sources who asked not to be named said the Israeli team, led by the heads of Mossad and Shin Bet, David Barnea and Ronen Bar, along with Major General Nitzan Alon, who oversees talks on behalf of the Israeli military, will brief Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the status of the discussions.
An Egyptian source indicated that an agreement would be possible only if Israel drops its insistence on keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor, one of Cairo’s main demands because the corridor separates Gaza from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
However, the same source noted that Israel had provisionally approved the presence of Palestinian Authority personnel at the Rafah crossing, which connects Gaza with Egypt and has been closed since May. The source said, however, that displaying the Palestinian flag at the crossing would not be allowed.
Additionally, the Israeli team reportedly insisted that eight of its military positions remain in the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase of any truce.
Informants said mediators in Cairo, backed by a delegation from the United States, pressed for a Gaza truce lasting five to seven days to allow urgent medical aid and vaccines to reach Gaza’s civilian population, where more than 40,000 people have died since October 7.
Separately, Hamas’s delegation, which traveled to Cairo for consultations with Egyptian and Qatari officials, left the Egyptian capital after rounds of talks and a briefing on the current state of negotiations, according to a statement from the Palestinian movement.
Hamas reiterated its demand that Israel implement the draft framework agreed on July 2, based on a proposal put forward in May by the U.S. president Joe Biden. That proposal envisioned a cessation of hostilities followed by a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in a second phase.
Moreover, Hamas underscored that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a point Netanyahu opposes.
A high-ranking Egyptian security official told EFE on Sunday that talks would continue Monday to try to resolve outstanding points of disagreement between the parties.