Israeli delegation to fly to Cairo for cease-fire talks

JERUSALEM

An Israeli delegation is scheduled to travel to Egypt to meet with Egyptian security officials on efforts for a cease-fire in Gaza, according to Israeli media.

The delegation does not include top security officials and will discuss a request by Hamas for a full cease-fire in Gaza as part of a prisoner swap deal, the daily Haaretz said late Monday.

"It is not clear whether it (Hamas) will accept the proposal or put up obstacles as on previous occasions," Haaretz quoted one Israeli official as saying, without mentioning his name.

Egyptian media late on Monday cited Egyptian official sources as saying that a Hamas delegation engaged in the cease-fire talks departed Cairo, after holding talks with Egyptian officials.

According to the private Al Qahera News TV, the Hamas delegation left Cairo, but "will return back again with a written response" on the new deal proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza.

It, however, did not provide further details.

While Hamas insists on a comprehensive cease-fire in Gaza, Israeli government officials, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, refuse to agree on a full cease-fire and continue to push for attacking the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is home to over 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

The Israeli official added that Israel is ready to postpone the military offensive against Rafah for some months under the first stage of the deal, during which dozens of Israeli captives in Gaza will be released.

Haaretz noted that Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages, including women, female soldiers, elderly individuals, and injured captives.

Israel agreed to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, to redeploy its forces in Gaza, and to release Palestinians from Israeli jails, including those convicted by Israel of killing Israelis.

Egypt confirmed Monday that there is a new proposal for a truce in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

"There is a proposal on the table to reach a truce in Gaza,” Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said during a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia.

Hamas is estimated to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, while Tel Aviv is holding over 9,100 Palestinians in its jails.

Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory for any hostage-prisoner swap deal with Tel Aviv.

A previous deal in November 2023 saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 77,600 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

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 amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in 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