Cairo News: Egypt hosts Israeli and American delegations to discuss truce in Gaza

The channel quoted a high-level source as saying that there are “Egyptian consultations and contacts with the Palestinian factions movement within the framework of the Egyptian efforts exerted to achieve the truce agreement and exchange detainees and prisoners.”

The source indicated that there are intensive Egyptian meetings with all parties during the current week to push forward efforts to reach a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip.

Yesterday, Saturday, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz quoted an unnamed foreign source as saying that Israel had presented new demands that might lead to obstructing and prolonging the ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations with the factions’ movement.

The newspaper quoted the source as saying that the factions movement had expressed its approval of the last position proposed by Israel, but in the Friday meeting, Israel raised new issues.

Mossad chief David Barnea returned from Qatar following conveying to the mediators a basic message: In order to move forward with the prisoner exchange deal, the factions’ movement must agree to the broad outlines that were sent to them – and adopted by the Security Council and US President Joe Biden – and not make any changes to them.

The Associated Press quoted an official in the factions movement on Saturday as saying that the movement still wants “written guarantees” from mediators that Israel will continue to negotiate a permanent ceasefire agreement once the first phase goes into effect, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the war will not end until Israel achieves its goals of destroying the factions’ military capabilities and ability to govern, and returning all Israeli prisoners held in Gaza.

Efforts to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza have intensified over the past few days through intensive diplomatic efforts between Washington and Qatar; a source from the region said that the US administration is trying hard to reach an agreement before the presidential elections in November.

Source: “Cairo News” + RT