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Al-Ahram Weekly
7 days ago
- Health
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Cairo hosting trilateral talks on Gaza humanitarian aid, ceasefire - Foreign Affairs
Cairo is hosting delegations from Egypt, Qatar, and Israel for discussions on humanitarian aid for Gaza and efforts to secure a ceasefire, the Egyptian news channel Al-Qahera News reported on Tuesday. The tripartite talks are addressing the delivery of aid, the evacuation of patients, and the return of stranded individuals. The discussions are part of Egypt's ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Informed sources told the channel that the meetings have witnessed notable progress, with consensus reached on several humanitarian-related provisions within the proposed ceasefire agreement. The talks are scheduled to continue over two days. These consultations reflect Egypt's commitment to overcoming the obstacles hindering a comprehensive ceasefire and its determination to ensure the entry of sufficient and appropriate humanitarian assistance to residents of the strip, the sources added. On Monday, Al-Qahera News reported that Hassan Rashad, head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, held talks on a Gaza ceasefire with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, alongside Palestinian and Israeli delegations. Over the past week, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed in the Qatari capital. Despite international momentum, the two sides remain at odds over key terms. A Palestinian source told AFP that Israel's insistence on maintaining a military presence in Gaza has stalled a proposed 60-day pause in fighting. On the other hand, an Israeli official, speaking to AFP, accused Hamas of deliberately blocking a deal, as the group rejected new Israeli demands to retain forces in over 40 percent of Gaza. Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being the main obstacle. Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed 57,680 Palestinians — the majority women and children — and injured 137,409 others, according to the strip's health ministry. Egypt, alongside Qatar and the United States, has been a key mediator in efforts to end the war, now entering its 21st month. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Middle East Eye
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Egypt and Qatar ramp up efforts for ceasefire agreement in Gaza
Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani have been involved in talks to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.
Al-Ahram Weekly
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt intelligence chief pushes for Gaza ceasefire breakthrough
Hassan Rashad, head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, held talks on a Gaza ceasefire with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, alongside Palestinian and Israeli delegations, Al-Qahera News reported Monday. The meetings were part of Egypt's ongoing efforts to de-escalate the war on the Gaza Strip and overcome remaining obstacles to reaching a ceasefire agreement. High-level sources told Al-Qahera News that Egypt and Qatar both agree on the urgency of securing a ceasefire, ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid, and facilitating the release of captives and detainees. The sources also stressed that Egyptian, Qatari, and US mediators continue to intensify their contacts with all concerned parties to reach a deal. Over the past week, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed in the Qatari capital. But despite international momentum, the two sides remain at odds over key terms. A Palestinian source told AFP that Israel's insistence on maintaining a military presence in Gaza has stalled a proposed 60-day pause in fighting. An Israeli official, speaking to AFP, accused Hamas of deliberately blocking a deal, as the group rejected new Israeli demands to retain forces in over 40 percent of Gaza. Hamas also condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to relocate Palestinians to what it described as an 'ethnic concentration camp' in Rafah, near the southern border with Egypt. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told reporters that ceasefire talks were ongoing: 'Gaza — we are talking, and hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week.' Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed 57,680 Palestinians — the majority women and children — and injured 137,409 others, according to the Strip's Health Ministry. Egypt, alongside Qatar and the United States, has been a key mediator in efforts to end the war, now entering its 21st month. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Today
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Today
Egypt's General Intelligence head, Libyan House Speaker emphasize depth of relations between two countries
CAIRO – 22 May 2025: Head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Major General Hassan Rashad, met with Counselor Aguila Saleh, Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, on Thursday. During the meeting, Head of the General Intelligence Service affirmed Egypt's support for a Libyan-Libyan consensual solution and the reduction of foreign interference, in a manner that fulfills the aspirations of the Libyan people. For his part, Counselor Aguila Saleh, Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, emphasized the depth of Egyptian-Libyan relations and the historical ties between the two brotherly countries. He emphasized Egypt's role in resolving the Libyan crisis and its commitment to achieving stability and converging views between the Libyan parties. Saleh expressed the Libyan people's aspirations to advance the political process, contributing to the stability of the situation in Libya. The Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives praised Egypt's achievements in the field of infrastructure and numerous mega-projects, emphasizing the need for cooperation between the two countries in development sectors.
The National
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Gaza truce talks falter after Israeli negotiators insist Hamas surrenders weapons first
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Israeli negotiators are insisting that Hamas must surrender its weapons before it agrees to a proposed five-year Gaza truce presented by Egyptian and Qatari negotiators, sources briefed on the talks told The National on Tuesday. They said Israel's negotiators were also determined that it must retain the right to take military action whenever a threat to its security is identified inside Gaza. Hamas has agreed to lay down, but not surrender, its weapons, as well as its exclusion from the administration of postwar Gaza and the reconstruction of the enclave of 2.3 million people. The militant group has also agreed in principle that some of its senior officials will leave Gaza to live in exile as long as Israel guarantees they will not be pursued. 'Israel is not only insisting on Hamas giving up its weapons but also wants to destroy the entire military capabilities of Hamas, including the tunnels,' said one source, who pointed out that modest progress has been made during the talks in Cairo. Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who led his country's delegation in the talks, returned home on Tuesday. 'The talks are continuing. They are complex and making very slow progress, but they did not collapse,' the source added. The talks are the latest bid by mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US to broker a truce in Gaza after one reached in January ended on March 1. Gaza remained relatively calm until March 18, when Israel resumed military operations there. The mediators have been trying to persuade Hamas and Israel to agree to a new truce as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza mounts, reaching 52,365 on Tuesday, according to Palestinian authorities. Israel has also prevented humanitarian supplies from reaching Gaza, leading to acute food shortages. The sources said Israel also demanded during the latest talks that Hamas shares information about the 59 hostages it is believed to still be holding in Gaza. Broadly, the Egyptian and Qatari mediators have presented Israel and Hamas with a plan that entails a 45-day truce during which Hamas would release all hostages in return for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. It also provides for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and Hamas laying down its arms. The 45-day truce would take effect as part of a five-year ceasefire, during which Hamas would take steps to transform itself into a political party, reconstruction would begin and a new law-and-order security force trained by Egypt and Jordan would begin work in Gaza. Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad held talks with Mr Dermer on Monday night before experts from Israel and Egypt met to examine and finalise details of the proposed deal. They said Turkey, which has close relations with Hamas and Qatar, has been indirectly involved in the search for an end to the Gaza war, with officials from its intelligence agency negotiating with Algeria on terms and conditions for Hamas officials to live there in exile. The Turkish officials are also in contact with Iran, Hamas's main foreign backer, they added. The Gaza war was sparked by an October 2023 attack on communities in southern Israel by Hamas and allied groups. They killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a military operation that has laid to waste vast built-up areas in the tiny territory on the coast of the east Mediterranean. Besides the Palestinian deaths, the Israeli operations have wounded more than 100,000 Palestinians, according to authorities in Gaza. Egypt, which borders both Gaza and Israel, has played an increasingly active role in the negotiations since the Israeli military captured a narrow strip on the Palestinian side of the Egypt-Gaza border along with the Rafah crossing in May last year. Egypt says Israel's action is a breach of their 1979 peace treaty and subsequent accords regulating the border area. Israel insists that it needs to keep its military in the area to stop what it says is the smuggling of weapons and dual-use material for Hamas through underground tunnels linking Gaza with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Egypt maintains it destroyed the tunnels nearly a decade ago.
