Truce proposal requiring Hamas to disarm not Egyptian, reflects Israel's 'military failure': SIS head

Egypt Today

17-04-2025

FILE – Israel renews airstrikes in Gaza – WAFA
CAIRO – 17 April 2025: The head of the State Information Service (SIS) has clarified that a recent demand for Hamas to disarm as a condition for a ceasefire in Gaza is part of an Israeli proposal, not an Egyptian one.
In TV remarks on Wednesday, Diaa Rashwan refuted claims by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz that Egypt was behind the proposal.
Katz claimed that Egypt had, for the first time, proposed the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal.
Rashwan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is imposing 'impossible' conditions for a ceasefire to avoid a permanent end to the war, which amounts to 'political suicide' for him.
He described this demand as an admission of Israel's complete 'military failure,' emphasizing that Israel has been unable to eliminate Hamas's weapons since the war began in October 2023.
'How can Israel now resort to a political condition at the negotiating table and seek to do what it has failed to do with an army backed by all types of American weapons? This is an admission of Israel's complete military failure,' Rashwan stated.
The Israeli proposal currently under consideration by Hamas suggests a 45-day ceasefire, during which the movement would release nine living Israeli captives and 16 deceased captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, both living and deceased.
During this period, Hamas and Israel would negotiate a permanent end to the war and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has consistently referred to its weapons as a 'red line,' firmly rejecting any demands to disarm, making acceptance of such an offer highly unlikely.
The Israeli proposal also includes the release of US-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, supposedly the last living American captive held in Gaza, on the first day.
However, Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Tuesday that they had lost contact with the captors of Edan Alexander following an Israeli airstrike on their location, leaving his fate uncertain.
In a video recorded by Hamas from captivity on Saturday, Alexander addressed former President Trump, blaming him for believing 'Netanyahu's lies,' and wondering why he is still held there.
Hamas continues to hold 59 captives, with at least 22 believed to be alive, and has expressed readiness to release all remaining captives in exchange for an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops under a permanent ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, Israel has only shown willingness to accept a temporary truce for the release of captives from Gaza, without any commitment to end the war.
Rashwan emphasized that Hamas will not abandon its demand for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, insisting that the movement will not release all captives it holds unless an agreement is guaranteed by the US or has explicit Israeli approval signed as part of a permanent ceasefire.
On March 18, Israeli forces resumed the war in Gaza, shattering a ceasefire brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US, and killing over 1,600 Palestinian, predominantly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The original multi-phase ceasefire agreement, which took effect in January, led to the release of 38 captives held by Hamas, 30 of them alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, under the first phase.
Israel, however, has refused to move to the second phase of the agreement, which included a permanent end to the war in exchange for the release of all captives, living and dead.