Hamas ‘Agrees to PA Rule in Gaza’ as Israeli Mediators Head to Egypt

Hamas could be ready to return power in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority, according to reports, but with guarantees from Egypt and other Arab sponsors that it will not be completely excluded from governance.

Sky News Arabia claimed that Palestinian sources told the UAE-based broadcaster that Gaza’s current civil servants, the enclave governed by Hamas, would be “re-absorbed into the new administration or that they would retire, with a guarantee that their salaries be paid”.

The report claimed that Hamas made the decision “after significant Egyptian pressure on the Hamas delegation that visited Cairo”.

The New Arab cannot independently verify the claims.

Arab countries, led by Egypt, are trying to arrange a transitional administration in Gaza that can restore stability to the region and serve as an alternative to the controversial plan of Donald Trump that would see Palestinians ethnically cleansed from the enclave.

Factionalism between Fatah, which runs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and Hamas has often stymied any progress of unity between Palestinians, but now, with Trump threatening to force Palestinians out of Gaza it is believed there could be progress on this front.

This comes as Israel’s security cabinet is set to discuss on Monday the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza and send a delegation to Cairo, following talks between US diplomat Marco Rubio and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Rubio was in Israel on his first Middle East trip as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State, and was slated to leave for Saudi Arabia on Monday.

As well as his zealous support for Israel, the former Florida senator is also a hawk on Iran, joining Netanyahu in saying that the US and Israel will present a “united front” against Hamas and Tehran.

“Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force… they must be eliminated,” Rubio said of the Palestinian Islamist group.

Standing beside him, Netanyahu said the two allies had “a common strategy”, and that “the gates of hell will be opened” if all hostages still held in Gaza are not freed.

The comments came a day after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners — the sixth such swap under the ceasefire deal that took old on 19 January, and which the US helped mediate along with Qatar and Egypt.

However, Israel has violated the terms of the fragile ceasefire on numerous occasions, which has been further strained by Trump’s widely condemned proposal to take control of rubble-strewn Gaza and ethnically cleanse its more than two million residents.

“We discussed Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality,” Netanyahu said.

The scheme that Trump outlined earlier this month as Netanyahu visited Washington lacked details, but he said it would entail moving Gazans to Jordan or Egypt.

‘The only plan is the Trump plan’ 

Washington, Israel’s top ally and weapons supplier, says it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said for now, “the only plan is the Trump plan”.

However, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states have rejected his proposal, and instead favour the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday said the establishment of a Palestinian state was “the only guarantee” of lasting Middle East peace.

After visiting Saudi Arabia, Rubio will also travel to the UAE.

The US has been pushing for a potentially historic deal in which Saudi Arabia would recognise Israel, but Trump’s Gaza plan is complicating that effort.

Riyadh has said repeatedly that it needs to see progress towards a Palestinian state before taking such a step.

Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which nearly collapsed last week.

Since the truce began last month, 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.

Netanyahu’s office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two.

It also confirmed the prime minister was also dispatching negotiators to Cairo on Monday to discuss the “continued implementation” of phase one.

This comes after US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that while challenges remain, the second stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal is “absolutely going to begin” and that Trump “wants to see” it happen.

The team would “receive further directives for negotiations on Phase II” after the cabinet meeting, the office said.

Speaking to Fox News, Witkoff described “very productive and constructive” talks with Israeli, Qatari, and Egyptian officials about “the timing of phase two” and party positions, with negotiations set to continue this week in Cairo or Doha.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,709 people, the vast majority of whom are innocent civilians, with almost all of the enclave rendered uninhabitable.