CAIRO / PNN /
Senior Egyptian sources have denied Israeli media claims that Cairo proposed taking custody of Hamas’ weapons as a temporary “deposit” under a broader plan for Gaza’s future, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News channel reported Tuesday.
The denial came in response to Israeli reports suggesting that Egypt had floated an initiative whereby Hamas’ arsenal would be transferred to its custody for an unspecified period as part of a so-called “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip.
According to Al-Qahera News, “high-level Egyptian sources” (unnamed) dismissed the reports, stressing there was no such proposal.
The sources said instead that Egypt and Qatar had put forward a different initiative — one already accepted by Hamas — involving a 60-day ceasefire. Negotiations for a permanent truce between Israel and Hamas would begin on the first day the agreement takes effect.
Earlier Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced in a statement that “significant progress” had been achieved in talks on a Gaza ceasefire, saying the “ball is now in Israel’s court.”
The development followed a new mediators’ proposal on a prisoner-exchange deal and an end to the war in Gaza, which Hamas agreed to on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday that Israel’s position remains unchanged, insisting on the release of all 50 captives in accordance with principles set by the security cabinet to end the war.
The new proposal is nearly identical to one previously put forward by US envoy Steve Wietcov and accepted by Israel, under which Hamas would release 10 living captives and 18 bodies in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, during which negotiations would be held to end the war.
Hamas has repeatedly declared its readiness to release all Israeli captives “in one go” in exchange for an end to what it calls a genocide, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. But Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court, has resisted, introducing new conditions including the disarmament of Palestinian factions, while pushing for a reoccupation of Gaza.
Israeli reports claimed that under the alleged Egyptian plan, Gaza would be run by a temporary technocratic government for several years under Palestinian Authority oversight, with Hamas sidelined from governance.
The reports added that the supposed Egyptian initiative touched on one of the most contentious issues in any negotiations to end the war — Hamas’ weapons — which remain a major stumbling block to any long-term truce or political settlement, even as regional actors like Egypt try to push “innovative and unconventional” mediation ideas.
