The President of Egypt on Sunday said that his country has proposed a two-day ceasefire Israel and Hamas when four hostages held in Gaza were to be released and other Palestinian prisoners released.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, speaking in Cairo, said the proposal included the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. This is the first time that the president of Egypt has publicly proposed this plan.
Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has been a key mediator in peace talks between Israel and Hamas since the war began more than a year ago. Months of negotiations ended in August.
El-Sissi said the proposal aims to “move the situation forward,” adding that once the two-day ceasefire comes into effect, talks will continue to make it permanent.
There has been no ceasefire in 11 months, since a week-long ceasefire in November in which 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The Egyptian proposal comes as Israel’s top spy, Mossad chief David Barnea, will travel to Doha on Sunday for talks with CIA Director William Burns and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
There was no immediate reaction from Israel or Hamas to Egypt’s proposal.
On the Sunday of the government commemoration of the 7th anniversary of the attack of Oct. 7, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “not every goal can be achieved through military action.” He added that “painful compromises will be required” to return the hostages.
The Egyptian proposal came a day later Israel attacks Iran in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month. Iran’s supreme leader said the attack “should not be exaggerated or underestimated,” while refraining from seeking revenge. It was Israel’s first open attack on its archenemy.
The exchange of fire has raised fears of a regional war between Israel and the United States and Iran and opposition groups, including Hamas and the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground offensive earlier this month after nearly a year of conflict. the ground caused by the war in Gaza.