An Israeli delegation has travelled to the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss a draft proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in the Gaza Strip, which has been under intense attack since 7 October.
According to the Lebanese daily Al Akhbar, citing Egyptian sources, the delegation will present Israel’s position on the latest proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner release. The sources claimed that the agreement could come into effect as early as next week due to US pressure on Israel and regional diplomatic efforts.
However, the same sources noted that the Egyptian leadership is concerned that ‘the Israeli government will not honour the ceasefire after receiving some of the prisoners’.
In his speech at the White House on 31 May, US President Joe Biden said that Israel had presented a new three-phase ceasefire proposal, but Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu later claimed in his speech to the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the US Congress that there were ‘gaps’ between Israel’s proposal and Biden’s.
Following Biden’s statement, Hamas announced that it was open to proposals for a ‘permanent ceasefire, withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza, reconstruction and prisoner exchange’.
