Sources within the Hamas terrorist organization are addressing the Egyptian proposal regarding a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages from Gaza, and they say they are considering responding positively. According to the New York Times report, Hamas officials are even considering agreeing to a deal in which Israel would maintain its presence in the Philadelphi Route, even temporarily.
This is no less than a dramatic change, as throughout the past year, Hamas has not agreed to retract the condition that the IDF would not remain in the Philadelphi Route. But now, after Israel's success in isolating the arenas and leaving Hamas alone in the campaign, the terrorist organization Hamas is showing signs of breaking.
Earlier today, it was reported that a delegation from Egyptian intelligence will arrive in Israel today to present Cairo's "integrated vision" regarding the cessation of the war in the Gaza Strip. According to a report in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, brought by News 12 journalist Sapir Lifkin, sources say there is "optimism about reaching an agreement soon, in light of American support."
According to the details of the Egyptian plan, the ceasefire will last for one to two months, during which there will be a gradual release of Israeli hostages, with priority given to the elderly and those suffering from chronic illnesses – and simultaneously, "broader and longer discussions will take place, without military pressure on the ground."
At the same time, Egyptian officials will seek to give a period of a few days to the terrorist organizations after the ceasefire begins, in order to provide a detailed list of the hostages who are alive and to discuss the release mechanism. The vision also includes the resumption of the Rafah crossing, according to a mechanism that ensures the supervision of the Palestinian Authority over it and European oversight of its operation, with Israel having the right to object to the names of those leaving and with Egyptian guarantees that Hamas will not control the crossing or the Gaza Strip in the near future.
It also emerges from the Egyptian proposal that the proposal includes increasing the rate of aid entry into the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire, including medical aid. From a security standpoint, Israel will maintain its current military concentration points, whether in the northern or southern Gaza Strip, but it will not conduct any military operations and will avoid confrontations – which will allow for the repositioning of forces at only certain points.
