Egypt Proposes 2-Day Gaza Cease-fire for Hostage-Prisoner Exchange
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced on Sunday a proposal for an initial two-day cease-fire in Gaza to facilitate the exchange of four Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners. The announcement came as Israeli military strikes killed at least 45 Palestinians across the enclave.
El-Sisi made the proposal during a press conference in Cairo alongside Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. He stated that negotiations should resume within 10 days of implementing the temporary cease-fire to work toward a permanent solution. The proposal coincides with renewed talks in Qatar involving the directors of the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
There was no immediate response from Israel or Hamas. However, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said, “I expect Hamas would listen to the new offers, but it remains determined that any agreement must end the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza.”
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Israel has maintained that the war cannot conclude until Hamas is eliminated as a military force and governing entity in Gaza. The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been leading negotiations to end the conflict, which began after Hamas fighters entered southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Gaza health officials report that the death toll from Israel’s retaliatory air and ground operations is nearing 43,000, leaving the densely populated enclave in ruins. An official briefed on the Doha talks said that negotiations aim for a short-term cease-fire and the release of some hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
On Sunday, at least 43 Palestinians were killed in northern Gaza, where Israeli troops have returned to combat Hamas fighters they claim have regrouped. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation, describing conditions in northern Gaza as “unbearable” and criticizing the conflict for being “waged with little regard for the requirements of international humanitarian law.”
The Israeli military stated it was investigating reports of an airstrike on a school in the Shati camp that killed nine people and wounded 20 others. Israel asserts that its forces operate in accordance with international law and targets Hamas operatives who use civilians as human shields—a claim Hamas denies.
