Egypt Mediated Gaza Truce Talks Begin in Cairo Amid Warning of Escalation

Egypt’s Cairo News Channel, citing a “high-level” source, said that talks mediated by Egypt to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip began, Thursday, in Cairo, in the presence of “a h -all participating delegations”.

The source said, according to the channel close to Egyptian information, “Egypt’s security delegation is intensifying its efforts to find a consensus formula on some controversial points.” “

He said, “Egypt renewed its warning to the participants in the talks about the risk of escalation if the talks do not reach a peace agreement.” “

Delegations from Hamas, Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar have been meeting in Cairo since Tuesday, while reports indicate “no significant progress” in the talks.

Hamas (which is designated as a terrorist group in the United States and other countries) announced earlier this week that it accepted the Gaza ceasefire proposal made by Egypt and Qatar on.

However, Israel announced that it did not accept the three-stage proposal approved by Hamas, because the conditions were relaxed.

Later, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press release: “Let me make one thing clear, and that is that Hamas did not accept the ceasefire proposal​​​​Hamas responded and their response contained several suggestions, which are not the same as acceptance. “

Miller said on Tuesday: “This statement, which was issued (Monday, May 6), was widely circulated, and I don’t blame whoever issued it, because that is what the statement said, (but) it does not accurately reflect what happened. They (Hamas) responded as “People (usually) do this in negotiation procedures, but it was not accepted.”

On Wednesday, Reuters quoted an Israeli official as saying that his country is seeing no sign of progress in the ongoing talks in Cairo, but is keeping its mid-level delegation in Cairo for now. .

The official said that CIA Director William Burns visited Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discuss halting Israeli operations in Rafah in Gaza in exchange for the release of guards.

Egypt resumed efforts to revive talks late last month, mainly due to concerns about Israel launching an operation against Hamas in Rafah. the southern Gaza Strip, where more than a million Palestinians are displaced near its borders.

The United States and many countries around the world warned Israel not to launch a ground military campaign in Rafah, amid fears of catastrophic consequences for civilians sent to – out to the city.

There are more than a million Palestinians in Rafah, who fled from other areas in the Strait, and who live in crowded tents near the Egyptian border.

The war began after the unprecedented attack by the Hamas movement (classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries) on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, according to the Israeli. authorities.

During the attack, about 250 people were kidnapped, 130 of them are still hostages in Gaza, and 34 of them are believed to have died, according to official Israeli estimates.

In response to the attack, Israel vowed to “eliminate Hamas,” and has since launched a bombing campaign followed by ground operations since October 27, which has resulted in the deaths of approximately 35,000 Palestinians, most of them the women and children, according to what the health authorities in the Strip said.