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Egypt sends delegation to Israel, cease-fire efforts in Gaza

2024-04-26 19:37:39, Kosova & Bota CNA

Egypt sent a high-level delegation to Israel in hopes of reaching a ceasefire agreement, two officials said. At the same time, Cairo warned that a possible offensive by Israel in the Gaza city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, would have serious consequences for regional stability.
Egypt's top intelligence official, Abbas Kamel, heads the delegation and is planning to discuss with Israel "a new vision" for achieving a longer-term ceasefire, said an Egyptian official who spoke in conditions of anonymity.
As the fighting continues and the death toll mounts, international pressure has mounted on Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Today's talks will focus on exchanging a limited number of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners and returning a significant number of Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza with "minimal restrictions," the Egyptian official said. He added that the hope is that the talks will continue with the ultimate goal of reaching an agreement to end the war.
The official said mediators are trying to reach an agreement that would meet the demands of both sides.

Hamas has stated that it will not back down from its demands for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, demands that Israel has rejected. For its part, Israel says it will continue military operations until Hamas is eliminated and that it will be present in Gaza to maintain security once the Hamas group is defeated. Ahead of the talks, a Hamas official, Basem Naim, told the Associated Press news agency that "there was nothing new from their side" when asked about the negotiations.

During the overnight hours, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles and artillery shells at a convoy of Israeli soldiers in a disputed border area, killing an Israeli civilian.

Low-intensity fighting on the Israeli-Lebanese border has threatened to escalate as Israel has targeted Hezbollah militants in recent months.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily airstrikes on Rafah, a city where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have found refuge.

The Israeli army has massed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in an area in southern Israel that is close to Rafah, in what appears to be an action in preparation to attack the city.

Rafah is a border town between Gaza and Egypt. During his stay in Israel, the head of the Egyptian intelligence services is expected to make it clear that Egypt "will not tolerate" the deployment of Israeli troops along this border area, the Egyptian official said.

The latter added that Egypt has shared with the United States and European countries data showing that the offensive in Rafah would ignite conflict in the region.

A Western diplomat in Cairo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Egypt had stepped up efforts in recent days to reach a short ceasefire in Gaza that would help negotiate a longer-term ceasefire and avert the Rafah offensive. .

Egypt has stated that the attack in Rafah would represent a violation of the peace agreement, implemented for decades, between Egypt and Israel.

The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, when attacks by the militant group Hamas, which the US has designated as a terrorist group, killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, according to Israeli data. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to health authorities in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas./ VOA