With Israeli and Hamas delegations both in Cairo this week, an official familiar with the Gaza hostage talks told The Times of Israel on Tuesday that Egypt has taken the lead in the negotiations with a new ceasefire proposal reportedly put forward.
Both Israel and the Trump administration pushed for Egypt to take the reins instead of Qatar, said the source, believing that Cairo can more effectively pressure Hamas to agree to a deal.
Israel remains optimistic that military pressure in Gaza is working and that Hamas wants a deal to end the fighting, the source added. A working-level Israeli team was in Cairo on Monday to speak with mediators.
According to the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo Sunday evening seeking a breakthrough in the negotiations. The delegation reportedly met with senior Egyptian officials.
Echoing earlier reporting, the Qatari news outlet said Tuesday that Egypt and Qatar have put forward a new deal proposal, which would include a seven-year ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a full IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the release of all hostages and a declaration by Hamas that it had “laid down its weapons.”
Egyptian sources cited by the newspaper said that the plan would not see any mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and that Washington has given its commitment to pressure Israel to agree to the deal, with efforts underway to finalize things before US President Donald Trump visits Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar next month.
Mounds of trash are seen at the former site of the Firas Market in Gaza City, which was transformed into a landfill during the war, on April 21, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
According to reports in Arab media outlets, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is expected to meet Tuesday in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the ongoing talks.
Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation left for Cairo on Tuesday to discuss “new ideas” aimed at securing a ceasefire, an official from the group said.
The Hamas delegation, led by the group’s chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya, “will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss new ideas aimed at reaching a ceasefire,” said the official.
Two sources familiar with the mediation effort said the delegation would discuss a new offer that would include a truce for 5 to 7 years following the release of all hostages and an end to fighting. The sources said Israel had yet to respond to a revamped long-term truce proposal.
Channel 12 reported Tuesday that several more hardline members of the cabinet were pushing for Israel to launch a mass call-up of reserves ahead of a major military operation. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the security chiefs believe that the current limited military operation to pressure Hamas was working and that there was still scope to give talks a chance to secure the release of the hostages.
The Times of Israel reported Sunday that Hamas was willing to agree to halt all military operations, including the development of weapons and the digging of tunnels, in exchange for a long-term ceasefire.
To enforce the halt on military activities against Israel, some Hamas officials have indicated willingness to have all of the group’s weapons placed in a guarded warehouse, according to an Arab diplomat.
Hamas is also willing to cede governing control of Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats, as envisioned by an Egyptian proposal for the postwar administration of the Strip, officials speaking to The Times of Israel said.
Last week, Hamas rejected a “partial” Israeli ceasefire proposal that was conveyed to the group but stated its willingness to discuss a broader deal that would include ending the war.
Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, brokered a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which began on January 19 and enabled a surge in aid, alongside exchanges of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
IDF troops are seen in the Morag Corridor area in the southern Gaza Strip, April 21, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
But the truce collapsed after disagreements over the terms of the next stage. Hamas had insisted that negotiations be held on a second phase of the truce, leading to a permanent end to the war, while Israel sought to extend the first phase. Following the impasse, Israel blocked aid and resumed its military campaign.
An Israeli official claimed to The Times of Israel on Tuesday that Israel’s renewed campaign in Gaza is showing signs of pushing Hamas toward accepting Israeli demands at the negotiating table.
“I believe the combined pressure — military, political and logistical — is showing its effects,” said the official, who is familiar with the details of the ongoing talks.
Israel continues to insist that it will not agree to an end to the war without Hamas fully disarming and its leaders going into exile.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was slated to convene his security cabinet on Tuesday evening. A source told The Times of Israel that Iran’s nuclear program and US-Iran talks will be on the agenda, although reports said that the hostage talks will also be discussed.
According to Channel 13 news, the cabinet will hear updates from the ongoing negotiations, and will also discuss the possibility of expanding the military campaign in Gaza.
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