As the Israeli Cabinet convenes to vote on the proposed ceasefire in Gaza, Egypt-a key mediator in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, along with other Arab nations-urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal “without any delay.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he was confident a deal had been reached, thanks to the “deep involvement” of American, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators, including officials from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. “We have a deal. What’s very important is to start implementation. What we are doing now is to push for final approval and implementation, without any delay,” he said.
Egypt’s role as mediator has become increasingly important, with Cairo hosting future talks on the truce. Abdelatty said talks would start soon and an “operation room” would be opened in the Egyptian capital to monitor implementation of the deal. “We are fully committed to fulfilling our own commitments and expect others to fulfill theirs,” he added.
Meanwhile, Egyptian and Israeli officials said a delegation of Israeli military and Shin Bet internal security agency officials would visit Cairo on Friday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing. These officials spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
Cairo is now hosting delegations from Qatar, the United States, and Israel in a bid to discuss “mechanisms” for implementing the truce deal, which is set to come into force on Sunday. Quoting an informed Egyptian source, Al-Qahera News reported that technical meetings started on Friday to determine the details of the ceasefire agreement, with the participation of teams from Egypt, Qatar, the U.S., and Israel.
According to reports, during these negotiations, negotiators agreed as part of the deal to facilitate the entry of 600 aid trucks per day into the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire agreement with Hamas is now going to a vote by the Israeli Security Cabinet. The agreement would officially end the fighting, which has escalated into one of the deadliest Gaza wars in history, and start the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s attack on Israel last October 7, 2023. Under the agreement brokered by Qatar, the U.S., and Egypt, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be released over the coming weeks from Israeli jails.
