Two Egyptian security sources told Reuters on Monday that "the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the allied Islamic Jihad Movement rejected an Egyptian proposal to relinquish control of the Gaza Strip in exchange for a permanent ceasefire." A member of the Hamas political bureau, Ezzat al-Rashq, later denied the sources' statements about the negotiations, stating, "We reiterate that there are no negotiations without a complete cessation of aggression." He added, "The movement's leadership is striving with all its might to stop the aggression and massacres against our people entirely, not temporarily," referring to the deaths of more than 20,000 Palestinians during the ongoing war with Israel, which has lasted for 11 weeks.
The two movements, which are holding separate talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo, rejected any concessions other than the release of more hostages taken on October 7, when militants attacked southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people. The sources indicated that "Egypt proposed holding elections and provided guarantees to Hamas not to pursue or prosecute its members, but the Islamist movement only refused to make any concessions aside from releasing the hostages. It is believed that more than 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza."
Egypt proposed a "vision" backed by Qatari mediators that includes a ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages, leading to a broader agreement that encompasses a permanent ceasefire along with comprehensive leadership reform in Gaza, currently controlled by Hamas. A delegation from the Islamic Jihad Movement, led by the movement's Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhala, is currently visiting Cairo to exchange ideas with Egyptian officials regarding prisoner exchange offers and other issues. The official stated that the Islamic Jihad Movement insists that any exchange process must be based on the principle of "all for all," meaning the release of all hostages held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza in exchange for the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Abu Shaheen pointed out that "our brothers in Egypt presented a paper. This Egyptian paper consists of ideas and general principles for discussion, and we will discuss these ideas within the leadership of the movement, and a unified Palestinian stance on them will also be formulated."
