Egypt Proposes Urgent Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Cairo

This proposal follows Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza at dawn on Tuesday, launching a series of airstrikes that have killed nearly 500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, which shattered its fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas.

According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Egyptian proposal aims to find a middle ground between Hamas’ earlier agreement to release the Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander and the remains of five dual-national captives and the US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s plan, which suggested releasing half of the living Israeli captives and half of the bodies held by Hamas.

The Egyptian plan also calls for an immediate ceasefire, reopening the Rafah border crossing for medical evacuations, and entry of humanitarian and relief aid into Gaza.

In exchange, Hamas would release several wounded Israeli captives and return the remains of dual-national captives, with the exact numbers to be negotiated once both sides accept the humanitarian-focused initiative, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Egyptian assessments suggest that Israel’s latest wave of attacks on Gaza may not subside before the end of Ramadan, given the scale of its preparations.

Late Tuesday, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that the group has not yet received any official Egyptian proposal, confirming that communications with Egyptian and Qatari officials are ongoing to halt the Israeli war on Gaza.

According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, high-level security and military discussions occurred earlier Tuesday between Egyptian and Israeli officials, including Israel’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Mossad Director David Barnea.

During the talks, Egypt emphasized the need to protect its personnel inside Gaza, including medical workers, equipment drivers, and security officers monitoring movement in the Netzarim corridor, south of Gaza.

In response, Israeli officials proposed securing safe corridors for the return of Egyptian personnel to the Karm Abu Salem border crossing.

Meanwhile, a former Egyptian official told the Washington Post that Egyptian and Qatari mediators are pushing to arrange urgent ceasefire talks with Israeli officials in Cairo to advance the deal to its next phase and facilitate a prisoner-captive exchange.

“Egypt is trying to contact the American side to exert some pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire,” the Egyptian official said.

Egypt has condemned the Israeli airstrikes overnight on the Gaza Strip as a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and a dangerous escalation which threatens to bring serious consequences for regional stability.

The first phase of the deal took place between 19 January and 1 March, during which Hamas released 33 captives, including eight bodies, while Israel freed around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip marks the most violent breach of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the US on 15 January.

Since then, Hamas has pushed for negotiations on a second phase. Meanwhile, Israel aimed to extend the first phase until mid-April, insisting on Gaza’s complete demilitarization and Hamas’ removal without guaranteeing a permanent end to the war.